Transition year students completed their Architects in Schools project on Tuesday 4th April with a lively presentation to fellow TY students, first years, school principal and several teachers.

http://www.comeraghcollege.ie/

The students prepared the narrative and presented their work over the past few months, and were confident, enthusiastic and open to discussion.

The theme of the project was sustainability– social, environmental and economic and the design journal was used as a springboard to explore these themes. Students initially analysed and discussed the impact the school architecture has on these aspects through mini-group investigations of the materials, light, senses in their school. These investigations were discussed debated in the large group and from these discussions two groups developed and identified two key areas for design – a new bus shelter and a revised social space.

Design briefs were discussed and drawn up with a sustainability approach for these spaces and environmental factors key. From these students learnt about scale and visual communication techniques by sketching and modelling these spaces in a range of scales and materials. The groups worked collaboratively as a team and learned how to arrive at a consensus through discussion and debate.

The bus shelter group used the Comeragh Mountains profile as inspiration and developed designs in mini-teams using a template of dimensions. The mountains served to foster ideas about shifting roof profiles, school identity and variation along a section. Other ideas explored included use of solar thermal and PV panels for charging stations, rainwater harvesting and social mixing several years through integrated bus shelters.

The social space group worked to link the social space for the student social needs of integration and privacy and proposed a space which improved natural daylight and ventilation and used local materials.

Students presented their designs both visually and verbally and both computer, hand-drawn images were used. Students also developed model making skills and one student learnt to 3d print their design. After the presentation, the general mood was high and students were asking how they could begin to make their designs a reality.