The project began with a movie called “The 11th hour” about our world's problems that needed to be solved. This gave me a realization that if we don't change as humans it can be devastating. This also gave me the realization that our generation will be tasked to fix them. The way that the project first made me feel was excited. After we started prototyping I started to feel more stressed because of the cost restriction. Starting this project made me think about different ways we can improve our school and our community.
Field trips and Guest speakers.
After the movie, our class took two different field trips. Our first field trip was to Twin Buttes next to our school. We saw how the new buildings that they are putting in use something called passive solar and recycled cement blocks with wood chips. Passive solar is a technique that uses the natural light in the morning to heat the home. In the summertime, the house is positioned in a way the sun does not heat the home. A memorable moment for me on the field trips was at the straw house we went to it used adobe and straw, you would think that these materials would be weak or not insulative. It turns out that these are the opposite.
What I've learned in this project.
From what I in this project sustainable design is when you use materials that can are recycled or don't take much energy to make. In the design to make it sustainable you want to use a little amount of energy, for example, the home we went to used its grey water from the sink to water the plants. Sustainability also means that you not only are sustainable during the building process but as well as afterward. This means that you can use your own energy such as solar.
Interviews and observations.
We were able to interview peers, teachers and outside sources these interviews helped us arrive to the conclusion of the needs and values of the users. I interviewed a peer, a teacher, and my parents. This gave me the main idea of what they want in a school environment. I saw that the main trend was organized outdoor space and a Quiet space. In my observations I saw that many students were listening to music, this gave me the sense that the music helped them stay focused. How we helped people stay focused in the outdoor space was a place sheltered from the elements this was in collaboration with the shade group.My group took these and implemented this and made a garden and an outdoor hangout space. In the west amphitheater we worked with the shade group and the other garden group across from us. The combination of our groups together made a space you can work in and grow in.
Prototyping.
I used the freedom to have ideas by my first partner and I experimenting with different ideas such as our first idea of a gazebo. Our first idea did not work out because of funding and how complicated our idea was. After that, we realized that we could do something simple that could fit into the project. This idea was a greenhouse, The green house was going to cost us about 1,000 dollars. This was slightly more realistic, so we went for it. At the all school exhibition we had a poster that showed our greenhouse idea and how we were going to set up the inside and outside of greenhouse. I feel that this was a successful This prototyping process let us look at our options and critique our final idea.
Construction.
For the physical part of the project, Trevor and I used our garden idea in the west amphitheater. We started by clearing out the area that we would put the project, after that we took apart pallets that we would use for the garden beds. Once the pallets were finished we started construction. We built two beds at the base, a space in between for walking and a large bed at the top of the project. When we were stuck trying to figure out the project Trevor and I built a decorative area that also prevented erosion. The area that we worked on is in the west amphitheater, it can also double as a bench.