Design-Build at a Micro-Scale

Design-build projects teach lessons that can’t be learned at the desktop, and awaken modes of learning that students may never have experienced. However, the projects can only take place where resources and enthusiasm are equal to the logistical challenges. And even then, learning may be limited by the very constraints that make the projects so valuable. This paper describes a project that foregoes size to maximize other benefits of design-build. We are currently preparing for the fourth iteration of the project and report on a range of difficulties, solutions, and plans for the future. The 4th Element is a material and compositional study of a limited number of components including line voltage electrical parts. It is colloquially known as “the lamp project”, but it isn’t an exercise in product design, and the projects needn’t provide light of any particular quality or efficacy. It is an exercise in design and construction. It requires students to build formwork, to mix and place concrete incorporating cavities and inserts, to work wood among other materials, to make various mechanical connections, to incorporate electrical and piping components, and to achieve passive ventilation. In a small volume, the project offers considerable breadth and complexity of experience. We identify six salient features of interest to teachers. 1. The organizational burden of design-build teaching can be substantial, but it decreases rapidly with project size, and in our case is minimal. 2. The design-build cycle can be too long for the academic rhythm. The 4th Element resides in an existing, one-semester course. 3. The delivery demands of design-build can inhibit design investigation. The small scale of our project allows the students time to develop and compare parallel or iterative approaches. 4. Regulation of technical trades means that critical aspects of systems integration and construction must often be left to others to design and execute, or to be left out of the project. Our exercise includes M and E experience.5. Design-build courses tend to be elective, and may attract students that already have experience of hands-on learning. The 4th Element is part of a mandatory class, so all students complete it, especially those who have the most to learn.6. Design-build projects are generally undertaken by groups. This fosters collaborative skills but can limit individual exposure to the particularities of building. Our micro-project is completed by individuals, each of whom confronts all of the difficulties entailed.This project does not bring the rewards of working for an outside client. It cannot provide the structural and project management lessons of full scale building. But students are highly motivated to complete a project that is in most cases their first built work, and they bring substantial ambition to bear. The teaching principles we set out could be used to design other exercises on a similar scale or to refine traditionally sized projects. As at our school, they can provide basic learning on which more advanced design-build can later be undertaken.

Volume Editors
Sergio Palleroni, Ted Cavanagh & Ursula Hartig

ISBN
978-0-935502-94-7