Students combine to crack mysteries of sustainable architecture
A RAW egg, plastic drinking straws and a length of sticky tape were among the unlikely ingredients used to introduce secondary students to sustainable architecture under an innovative project run by the University of Melbourne.
Third year students from the University's Architecture, Building and Planning Faculty teamed with year eight students from Princes Hill Secondary College who were studying 'sustainable cities' in order to explore the issue of smarter school design.
Using 20-minute presentations, the University students explained aspects of architecture such as aesthetics, function and innovation to their secondary school counterparts, and illustrated each element through a practical activity.
Innovation was defined as the use of existing materials in new and unconventional ways, and to link it to buildability the year eights were given five minutes to use the straws and sticky tape to devise a structure that would protect the egg from smashing when it was dropped from a height of 1.5 metres.
One group built a teepee-shaped vessel into which the egg was secured. Another student showed true innovation by taping the egg (and a straw) to his chest to employ himself as a human shield, although he was spared the 1.5m drop.
All eggs subjected to the plunge survived the impact.
In other practical exercises, year eight students were blindfolded and handed a variety of building materials to examine in order to help them understand materiality, while others were challenged to build structures out of either loose or pre-fabricated blocks to illustrate the principle of buildability.
Around 100 year eight students also attended an architecture studio at the University that housed models and drawings of sustainable school designs. They were asked to vote for their favourite pieces of work, which enabled the University's budding architects to receive feedback from their 'clients'.
The Princes Hill students also received instruction on how to use computer design software and build models to help them with project work for their 'sustainable cities' assignments.
Dr Dominique Hes, a lecturer in sustainable architecture at the University who oversaw the collaborative project, described it as a highly-successful knowledge transfer initiative which enabled her students to relate directly to the end users of their designs, and also helped de-mystify the world of architecture to the year eights.
"I grew up not knowing what architecture was, so I wish I had that sort of opportunity at school level to have it explained to me," Dr Hes said.
"As a University we don't only have to focus on teaching our students, but look to feed into what's happening for our potential future students and to play a role in what they are learning."
"It's really important to connect our students with the community and to set up chances to learn from both. The Princes Hill secondary students learned from us, and our architecture students learned from them."
"It's also really important to simplify complex ideas and not hide behind the pretext of rigour and academic language to make things inaccessible."
"We need to retain a level of rigour, but we also need a way to relate this information to the wider community and to recognise what are the needs of industry and the public."
"I know that it's not everybody's cup of tea, but as a University it is important that we do not become precious about what we do and who can share in it."
Princes Hill Secondary College teacher Cathy Nelson described the project as a great success that prompted enthusiastic feedback from the students and staff who were involved.
"All of the children really enjoyed the hands-on approach to building and modelling, as well as the chance to learn from professionals other than teachers," Ms Nelson said.
"The visits and presentations from the University students were very well received, and our students loved going to the University to see what they described as 'real architects' at work"
"In addition, our teachers instantly appreciated the value of an exercise that included real-life community links and relevance."