by Will McHale on March 28, 2012
We bagan our collaboration with Josphat Macharia and the Ndabibi Environmental Conservation Center a couple of weeks ago!
We are working on 4 design challenges with Josphat in Kenya:
1. Alternative fuel potential
2. Water pump for cistern and water deployment through farm and home
3. Simple farm transport
4. Plastic re-use
It is an exciting experience. At least once a week we are skyping or having a group phone conversation with Josphat. It is an 8 hour time difference, so a bit tricky to plan. And the reception is not always that great. But it is good enough to have conversations and critique.
Josphat is the only person in his and surrounding villages with a computer. We were able to leverage this by providing Josphat with a mobile internet hookup in his home so that he would not have to travel to Naivasha, which is more than a half day endeavor. We also sent Josphat a new camera so that he could respond to student questions with photos and videos. This was the way that we were able to deal with the obvious lack of being able to acquire first hand the ethnographic research we need to properly address the design problems we are looking at. So far it has been a really wonderful experience. I worked with Josphat to get him comfortable with other digital tools like Skype and Dropbox too!
His English, though heavily accented, is quite good.. And he is a very quick study!
Josphat is not just a farmer, he is an educator himself, and has been an ideal partner in the experiment we have undertaken in working long distance. The plan is to have a group of students and myself travel to Ndabibi in July for 12-14 days. This will be the follow up to the studio. We will take what we are able to carry with us and test it to get the physical feedback necessary to validate design prototypes. What better way is there to spend a summer?
by Will McHale on March 28, 2012
UArts faculty Alex Gilliam brought Veronika Scott to our floor last week. She delivered a memorable and inspiring talk about her experience building a nonprofit, The Empowerment Plan, in Detroit while pursuing an undergraduate degree in design.
“The Empowerment Plan is a humanitarian project based in the city of Detroit. The plan centers around a coat that is self-heated, waterproof, and transforms into a sleeping bag at night. The coat is made by a group of homeless women who have been paid to learn and to produce the coats for those living on the streets. The focus is on the system to create jobs for those that desire them and coats for those that need them at no cost. The importance is not with the product but with the people.”
“Veronika Scott is 22 years old and just graduated from the College of Creative Studies in Detroit but has already launched built her own non-profit from scratch, fabricated over 275 coats, won a 2011 International Design Excellence Award from the Industrial Designers Society of America and received national media attention for her work.”
See more here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2EUAv3CEPY
by alexandra on February 24, 2012
This week the sophomore Materials & Processes class visited Amuneal, a well known and highly respected metal manufacturing facility in Philadelphia, where we were warmly welcomed, introduced to the company’s history and lines of work, and given a tour of their work spaces. It was an eye opening learning experience because we were able to see firsthand many of the processes, materials, and equipment that we had discussed in our metals class the prior week. Some of the highlights were their metal Trumpf laser cutter, scaled model building stations, and vast array of immaculately kept equipment. And a special thanks to our guides who shared their enthusiasm, skills, and time with us!
