We always begin every studio project with some background research pertaining to the subject at hand. This process is necessary, yet the process can often be a bit boring. Dredging though books and websites for necessary information to inform the design can sometimes take the wind out of the sails of the students who begin the semester eager to begin making stuff. This semester’s research has been different.
I am not sure if it is the uniqueness of the project or the approach we are taking, but I have found the recent conversations the studio has been having about the data that has been collected extremely interesting, and I anticipate the conversation tomorrow during our first review to be the same.
What I am finding interesting, and I assume the students are finding frustrating, is the analysis and interpretation of the collected data. This process is not about regurgitating the facts found, but deciphering the collected information in a focused way that benefits our design process. It is important that each student take their collected information and not only sift out the most pertinent, but apply their own thoughts and opinions as to how that pertinent information should be applied to the design of the project.