Architecture in Year 11

Post author By Andrew
Post date December 14, 2021

Architecture in Year 11 Real-life Projects With Impact

I initiated the Year 11 Architecture unit as a way for students to build upon the technical and creative skills we have developed over the course of the previous stages of our Technology and STEM programs, but to also to give students a real-world project wherein they would be introduced to working professionals who can give them insight and perspectives we can’t.

In this project students are required to interview a full spectrum of stakeholders for the design challenge we are undertaking that year. They research existing solutions and seek out inspiration for new ones, then develop those ideas further. For skill-building, students study graphical modeling for architecture, learn to use Finite Element Analysis features within Fusion 360 to predict reactions in structures they are proposing, build scaled card architectural models, and finally present their proposed solutions back to project stakeholders. Students also present their work in two phases to guest architects, once at the graphical stage in order to gather feedback on their chosen directions for development, and once when their scaled models are approximately 70% complete, allowing them time to still make adjustments before presenting back to stakeholders.

Tags Architecture, CAD, collaboration, design, students, year 11

Projects

Animal Masks

Post author By Andrew
Post date January 12, 2020

Animal Masks Linking Art and Anthropology

This Year 9 (Grade 8) Art project was inspired by a life-long love of masks and mask culture and by a recent visit to the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa. I have collected masks in my travels, and have constructed several of my own. Recently, I made two masks from cardboard – a Krampus mask based on the European tradition, and a lion mask inspired by The Lion King’s Scar character and a mask I found online. In the school project, students were asked to find a culture or mask maker who uses animals as inspiration for their designs. They then completed an artist study, found reference images, and created sketches to help them in constructing individual masks, which could be copies or extensions of what they found in their research. Following a reflection activity, final works were displayed in a four-class collection.

Learn more about the Canadian Museum of History and the First Nations of West Coast Canada at https://www.historymuseum.ca/event/grand-hall/

Tags animals, art, cardboard, design

Projects

Maggie’s New Jacket

Post author By Andrew
Post date December 27, 2019

Projects - Andrew Walton - Sewing - Maggie's Jacket

Maggie’s New Jacket Sewing and Design

Maggie’s New Jacket is an actual dog jacket, and the name of a video of the process that I can break down to show students in my Tech classes. The idea was to capitalize on the project I wanted to do anyway, and I plan to extend it out to include screenshots and text to allow students to review on their own. Skills students can learn and practice here include (in the sewing): detailed planning, measuring, marking, sewing, resilience to errors, and in the video creation: creating a storyboard, shooting and cropping, editing, creating titles and audio editing, to name a few.

Tags sewing, video editing

Projects

Cards of the World

Post author By Andrew
Post date December 17, 2019

Cards of the World Culture, Pattern & Symmetry

Cards of the World was a collaborative project between Dulwich College Beijing Art Teachers, and was conceived by Head of Department Jenn Knowles and myself. Every student in Year 8 contributed a playing card design, and the final printed sets are being sold to raise money for the “Yunnan Project” charity fund. As the card box reads: “[The Yunnan Project] is a charity where DCB students raise funds to support schools for migrant children in Yunnan province. DCB runs two trips per year where students engage with local communities and funds raised go towards building essential facilities such as bathrooms and playground resources.”

Tags art, cards, collaboration, print design, students

Projects

Project (ZERO)

Post author By Andrew
Post date December 17, 2019

Project (ZERO) Practical Plastics

I conceived Plastic (ZERO) as one piece in a lofty target of reducing Dulwich College Beijing’s net plastic output to zero. Working in part of a larger effort involving many people and clubs, referring to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and with the help of industry experts and innovators, we will take a three-pronged approach to our target: 1) research and collaboration 2) action and development, and 3) education and outreach. We will continue to connect with experts and innovators in related industries, use funding to establish and develop technologies in house to produce building materials from the school’s consumed single use plastics, and multiply the value of our learning by engaging in education and outreach programs across the College.

This project would be supported by economic modeling from Business Studies students which allow for sustainable growth, and our work would have natural extensions into the Humanities and Visual Arts. In partnership with the school’s SDG club, and with the help of industry experts, our work will be combined with more traditional efforts and education regarding reducing consumption as well as sorting plastics for recycling by third party companies. A mature Plastic (ZERO) program could be rolled out to other campuses, and become a model for communities around the world.

Tags engineering, plastics, SDGs, upcycling, waste

Projects

Student Entrepreneurship

Post author By Andrew
Post date December 17, 2019

Student Entrepreneurship Research >> Design >> Sales

Founded by former DCB Head of Design, Natalie Stevens, the DCB Enterprise Fair is an opportunity for our STEM and Business Studies to pitch their big ideas the local community. Each year, our Year 10 STEM students research, design and produce products to market and sell. Our Year 11 STEM students then take on “the other side of the coin” – they are tasked with organizing the fair, including attractions, advertising, sponsors, customer flow, and a thousand other tasks they learn “on the job”.

For the 2019 Fair, I was the lead teacher organizer, and we (all) continued our growth and learning in myriad recognizable and rewarding ways.

See more write-ups about our work with student entrepreneurship here:

Header image from DCB’s Winter Edition of their public magazine.

Tags design, entrepreneurship, marketing, students

Projects

3D Design: Bobbleheads

Post author By Andrew
Post date November 25, 2019

3D Design Bobbleheads Identity and Expression

I’m super proud of this 3D design unit I created and the end products my kids produced in house. The idea of this unit was for students to look at their family history and design a 3D printed head for a bobblehead chess piece as part of a class set for an ancestry mapping company. I made the chess board to accompany the pieces and we have outside judges (including preschool kids) give blind feedback to make it even more authentic. In the first rotation of this unit my students did very well, learned a ton, and had fun doing it.

At the time of writing, the next iteration of this unit is already underway and we are all learning from past mistakes and finding ways to improve.

Tags 3D printing, design, grade 7, year 8

Projects

Wildfire Solutions

Post author By Andrew
Post date November 25, 2019

Wildfire Solutions Professional Consultancy

Working with long-time friend and business parter, Muhammad Azeem, we have been running Wildfire Solutions since 2016, bringing our experience, skills and energy to schools and small-to-medium sized enterprises around the world. My foci with Wildfire are on website design, branding and communications. Visit our site at wildfire.tech to learn more.

Tags branding, business, entrepreneurship, website design

Projects

Spray Paint

Post author By Andrew
Post date November 25, 2019

Spray Paint Graffiti in Schools

I’ve been involved in spray painting for a couple of years, since my artist and art teacher friend, Steve Northcott, got me into it. I now run an after school club for graffiti, do the occasional project for local businesses and spend my summers doing murals and painting for fun in Canada.

My school club has done about 8 murals in the first full year of being in existence and we have had very positive feedback from the school community. Our work has helped open people’s minds to the idea of spray painting, while also helping to beautify and enrich physical spaces on campus.

My mural in Woodstock, NB was featured on CBC New Brunswick News. You can see that article here.

Related: Check out some of Steve Northcott’s music and travel adventures at http://www.onthebeatandpath.com/

Tags personal, professional, students

Projects

Marvel Flair

Post author By Andrew
Post date November 1, 2019

Marvel Flair Upgrading the Learning Environment

The idea to add some superhero flair to my classroom design space came out of a combination of being a bit of a comic geek, some free time one day after school and knowing that adding some of the more recognizable superhero and super villain logos to our otherwise plain stools would be a big hit with my students and fellow design teachers alike. I started with Captain America, and as soon as I showed it to people I knew I was going to end up with a full classroom set. Pretty quickly, students joined in, and we now have 21 unique superhero chairs and a couple others just for fun.

Students use 2D digital design software to render the logos, laser cut the stencils, and then spray paint the stool tops. The stools still age over time, adding character to the logos, and opening the door for future adjustments.

Against my better judgement I caved in and allowed a DC chair to be created recently, but that will have to stay in the next door classroom to avoid the two comic universes colliding.

Tags chairs, classroom, design, marvel, students