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First-year students from the Engineering & Architectural Design MEng programme are introduced to the design world through two modules: Design Make Live and Design Make Information. Both modules run in parallel with each other, integrating design, engineering, making and a wide variety of representation skills.
Every year the modules follow a central theme that is further explored by each studio. These projects are a culmination of their Design Make Live module – a microcosm for the construction industry which serves as a testbed for more detailed individual learning and critical inquiry.
This year the theme was ‘Carnival’, which saw students exploring colourful moving allegories from the diversity of carnivals around the world. The students worked collaboratively in eight groups, tutored by four studios. Students proposed a variety of designs and built them into full-scale pavilions combining making, architectural and engineering knowledge. The eight resulting projects were named FloToPo, Walking Tower, Spark of Life, The Weight of Water, Guiding Beacons, Cocoon of Intimacy, Caterpillar and Butterfly Suit. The students exhibited these projects in a parade from the Lee Valley Velodrome to the UCL East building in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, engaging with the carnival as a real festival open to the public. The pavilions perform and test engineering and architectural ideas to their limits.
In parallel, Design Make Information introduced students to methods used by professional design teams for the process of designing, making and evaluating the exchange of information to build. The module establishes a bridge between analogue and digital techniques, re-using traditional techniques as well as fostering cutting-edge technologies. After the installation, students proposed an individual iteration based on the pavilion designed and built by them. This project combined the techniques that students have gained in previous modules, translating the core concepts from temporary pavilions to permanent architectural proposals.