journaling-a-process

[journaling-a-process]

Evaluation

As a divergent activity, I used the "jury of peers" strategy to get feedback on the overall concept and main goals of our project. While my jury wasn't without biases (careers in environmental design, green energy, and disaster preparedness) they showed a lot of enthusiasm for the project. The major points they liked was a centralized location for data, a place where people can connect who are facing and working on the same issues across the country, and it being essentially a "direct call to action" regarding climate change. However, they suggested improvements to keep it simpler and to focus on the DIY/AR angle.

That feedback was important as we examined our "measurable goals". We were able to touch on the major themes we defined in our implementation, but we had to focus our energy on the overall concept of AR guided DIY. In our selection phase we worried about approachability problems - what if someone was tech adverse? What if they denied climate change? To challenge those problems we prototyped a interface that felt familiar, borrowing design inspiration from google maps and social media. We think those perceived problems can be dismissed, if we let them guide us, would there be disruption?

We enthusiastically implemented "proposed improvements", almost to our detriment. Our group was full of design thinking, passionate individuals who wanted to solve problems. It's been very enjoyable working as a group and having our discussions but now it's a double edged sword.  Reworking the prototypes, the flows, and the potentials of our project needed to be contained even though it was the most exciting. We could not draw a line in the sand during implementation to push off our improvements - as they say, design is never finished.

[journaling-a-process]

Implementation

ROUND 1!

I feel as though in our first round we floundered a bit. We got caught up talking about details that in my opinion, are not relevant and do not need to be flushed out for this project. While we need a conceptual idea and to all be on the same page for the structure of the product, I didn't think we were there yet. As a visual thinker I started a few diagrams showing key components we would need to accomplish our ideas and the flow between each, though we did not get into that during this discussion. I was feeling a bit anxious after this work session. I feel as though my group needs to embrace the "fake it till you make it" attitude but keeps getting caught up in finer details - which is great if it were a real product! But to sell an idea you can gloss over those parts to be able to invest energy into selling it visually and with a strong vocabulary - thus with a strong story. And that kind of work is the stuff I love.

ROUND 2!

Our second round of work was much more productive - we finally dialed in on the structure and how it will be viable. However, I still feel as though we need to zoom back out and focus on the marketing more than the specifics at this point. We still didn't get into any of my flow charts… but I'm still working on them. In my opinion that's what will tell us what we need to produce visually, what we can communicate to sell the idea, to show it works. Jumping back and forth from that and an idea of a VVP is critical in my mind - you cannot do this work independent of each other, they need to evolve together. And while a VVP isn't my assigned task, I am feel anxious about pushing that off to the weekend. I've put together many presentation and pitches (though in architecture) and I know how time consuming it can be and how important a visual language is! I am very excited to get together with my team to get feedback on what I've put together and see where their heads are so we can synthesize them together and have a final outline of what wireframes to show.

[journaling-a-process]

uhh-deation

This part was a struggle. Some of us felt we were getting ahead of ourselves, some felt right on track - mostly we were confused on the actual structure of this activity. Before meeting as a group, some of us attempted to summarize the methods and techniques, summarize the goals, and structure how our discussion should go since we all had very limited time to work and meet this week. While we all seemed to have different interpretations (going in AND leaving the group session), we all were flexible and trying to be team players.

But we just went with it - we attempted the different ideas we all had, trying to stay aligned with the methods and techniques for this unit. We ended up with many questions and many ideas for those questions. We also somehow create a value proposition model in addition to the business model canvas. I don't feel like we were very productive and I was a little bummed because I enjoy ideation sessions, I loved getting involved in those sessions when brainstorming project goals, concepts, or when there's project pursuits at work. I think it would have helped if we all came together fully prepared, and if we established a leader and rules as mentioned in the unit.

One of the crazy ideas I threw out there was the possibility to intertwine this project idea with web3 - but honestly I still don't understand it all yet (that would be a good first step). In some of my readings I've seen suggestions on tying building elements or materials to blockchains, as a passport to show the items history and perhaps inform its future uses. As I mentioned to my group, there is a small transition in the industry's view on "sustainability". Some people are swallowing the fact that building materials going forwards cannot all be new and at some point we will be reusing existing stock - why not work to make these transitions easier?

[journaling-a-process]

DeFiNiTiOn

People should have the access to the same information and innovations happening in the AEC industry to better equip themselves for a changing future. People should have the autonomy to build up a resilient home and the industry needs to take a proactive pivot.

As a designer, I cannot predict the future. But, as a designer it is my responsibility to imagine the possibilities. As we continue to undergo societal and ecological changes, the resilience of our built environment grows critical. Reimagining how we live is hard but will at some point become necessary for our communities, comfort, and wallets! As of now, the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry uses new technology to improve their processes with the same results. While analyzing these issues and many more, my group has boiled down the problem at hand -

Everyday people do not have the access to tools to analyze and address the impacts of a changing climate that directly affects them in order to be self-sustainable and resilient from the safety of their home.

After we took the time to individually define the problems we see, we shared and found many saying the same thing in different words. Using the talk it out / write it out technique we created a list that was then organized and prioritized. We were able to boil it down a few themes - approachability, accessibility, affordability, and adaptability, and we examined everything through this lens. Which naturally led us to a few personas and parameters, giving us a clearer path of exactly WHAT we wanted to build off of that does or does not exist. We believe climate analysis isn't approachable and isn't advertised - leaving people unaware of risks in investing in a home or where to put their efforts towards. We also see the inertia in the AEC field when other industries and the environment itself explodes with energy. Cutting edge technology, such as AR and generative design need to be cut loose, used through a different lens and leave a mark on the physical world.

[journaling-a-process]

Analysis

I worry that I get too obsessive with the concept of adaptive/resilient design solutions for a unpredictable (but imaginable!) future. It is so broad and even something the architecture industry doesn't dive too deeply into. I am so inspired by natural systems and I love drawing parallels between them and the ways we can live. I believe evolution has done a lot of the heavy lifting for us, and now we can use AI to build off it and learn and actually apply those lessons. It is the very rejection of those processes that brought us to the point of global warming and there is nothing stopping it - I am not interested in "sustainability" because we are far past that point, you can pay to offset your carbon footprint all you want, it's not changing anything. I remember when the reports came out about being on the fast track to 2 deg C - I was in a somber sustainability meeting. In that meeting I had a coworker wondering if the costs of wood siding is worth it from a carbon standpoint, instead of the cheaper metal option. My other coworker, the director of sustainability in the AIA and author of one of the best sustainability standards for buildings, laughed and said go with metal - because it's going to last longer and be a more valuable resource for when someone rips it off to reuse it in the future. The conversation should now be about resilience.

I've gathered data from previous projects, studies, and readings on architecture and resilient designs as that's always been an interest for me. I have also combed through other slack groups I'm a part of to track new industry trends and companies in the scene. I've looked into subjects and ideas my groups has brought up from our brainstorming sessions. But I think it's been conceptually difficult for us because there is no clear blueprint - turns out the ideas we've had and understood clearly exist - maybe not in its final form but it's already become saturated. The ideas we are dancing around are hard to imagine since it doesn't exist, or exists is parts and pieces scattered across subjects with no clear connections already made. I find it exciting - to imagine what's not there, but am not the greatest communicator with my conceptual visions.

My team has dumped lots of ideas and subjects pertaining to our project together and individually. We've started to compile the research - even if its adjacent and not directly connected. Off to the sides of our documents or within our notes I've highlighted attributes and patterns so we can clearly track. Overall, we know generative design is about to explode the AEC field - while some architects express fear over getting runover by AI, they seem to miss the point that generative design still requires input and that it can be used as a tool. It's mostly used for developers and building owners to max profits. We are also see numerous trends for homebuilders and buyers for custom floor plans, as well as offer the 3D files for potential AR use in marketing. We even found a company using AR how we imagined, but for construction workers and engineers - to see on site how everything should go together. But again, there is a hole in the market to target individuals, to give them how things go together, and overall a lack of using generative design to create more resilience buildings using biomimicry.

[journaling-a-process]

Acceptance

Many renters and homeowners lack the knowledge of executing home projects, lack the knowledge of building sciences, and lack the imagination to cut costs, reuse materials, and to step outside of standardized building systems in the US. As climate change disrupts our lives more frequently, resilience grows more critical. To be able to bounce back and adapt requires knowledge from a multitude of sectors. My team offers a tool to support collective and individual efforts, targeted to the regular joe, using artificial intelligence - or generative design, to call build off what we already know and to evolve that knowledge. Presented through a step-by-step process using AR, a regular dude can adapt his home to whatever challenges they may face.

As a cutting edge technology, generative design services are offered to those with deep pockets. If we give access to individuals, it would disrupt the AEC industry as a whole. Knowledge is no longer compartmentalized and gatekept. When information and how-to's of building science is accessible to a regular Joe, we as a society can stand resilient in an unpredictable future. Success in this project comes from its adaptability to tackle a wide range problems. In the present it can help a first time home buyer figure out how they can build and replace cabinets when they are priced out due to shortages. In the future it can help a renter keep their apartment cool when the grid shuts down.

As technology exists now, we are using new processes to get to the same solution. But we need to use new processes to get to a different solution. Generative design opens up the opportunity to evolve the way we build, to respond to contextual forces - and so someday our cities suffering from the urban heat island effect might instead function more like a forest - changing to the circumstances at play, and individual actions growing towards systematic change.

Success in this project will even the playing field - as the rich have already prepared a fortress for climate calamities, everyday people now have the knowledge that used to be gatekept by the price tag, to build stronger and support themselves.

Success for me would be knowing I did something that offered value to people's lives. To create something that supports individuals rather than just institutions, that supports autonomy and collectivization, and to give back knowledge that has been specialized and siloed.

[journaling-a-process]

Defining Creativity

Creativity means experimenting, taking risks, and playing with ideas.

Creativity means observing, asking questions, and exploring where you wouldn't think to look.

Creativity means synthesizing ideas, iterating, and challenging norms.