#charrettes lab

[amitynoida]

Choosing The Best Institute For B.Arch In India: Amity University

There are a plethora of B.Arch colleges in India, and selecting the correct university is important for a prosperous and fruitful career in the field of architecture. When we talk about the leading B.Arch Colleges in Noida, Amity University stands out from the crowd as a model of excellence, providing a stimulating environment where students may develop their architectural knowledge and express their creativity.

Benefits Of Choosing Amity University For B.Arch

1. Global Exposure

Amity provides students with exceptional exposure and an environment to be a well-rounded architect. Working with globally recognized architectural companies and student exchange programmes among the students of Amity University create a fertile field where the number of opportunities are numerous and the exposure is excellent for Amity's students.

2. Blend of Theory and Practice

Among all the B.Arch Colleges in Delhi, Amity University stands out for its ultimate academic excellence in the field of architecture, with a curriculum designed to blend theoretical knowledge with practical application. The professors and specialists make sure that each student obtains an overview to architectural history, on-ground practices, and the most recent trends.

3. Resouces on Campus

Students here, have access to state-of-the-art infrastructure, including design studios, computer labs, model-making facilities, and architectural libraries. The students will have the opportunity to be actively involved through the use of such facilities as they conduct experiments to explore other architectural concepts and build them. To avail these benefits, one can Apply Now for the Amity’s Bachelor in Architecture programme!

B.Arch Colleges in India: Why Amity University Stands Tall

1. Learning Environment

Amity University fosters a collaborative learning environment where students can engage in group projects, design charrettes, and workshops that encourage teamwork and peer-to-peer learning.This form of learning allows students to be more involved and to join ventures together which eventually leads them to be familiar with working in a team in the corporate world.

2. Broad Curriculum

​The University provides a thorough B.Arch program that covers architectural design, history of architecture, sustainable design, and urban planning. It is so designed to develop critical thinking, imagination and problem-solving among the students.

3. Developing Design-Centric Mentality

The design-oriented approach of Amity University emphasizes the role of creativity and innovation in architecture that is essential in an architect's practice. Students hence become more adventurous in translating their design ideas into various solutions and having their own design language under the guidance of professionals.

Is Amity the right fit for you? With the commitment to academic excellence, staying up-to-date with industry trends, and holistic development, Amity emerges as the top choice for students aspiring to pursue B.Arch in India. If you're someone who consistently search for ‘Which college is best for B.Arch’ and also passionate about design, sustainability, and innovation, then Amity University's B.Arch program is the perfect way to start your architectural journey. Admissions Open!

Source: https://amityuniversitydelhincr.blogspot.com/2024/03/choosing-best-institute-for-barch-in.html

[charretteslab]

Poche regole

Per partecipare alle charrettes online è necessario seguire alcune regole; ve le elenco qui sotto, con le relative spiegazioni (in basso in corsivo) per farvi comprendere la legittimità delle scelte

1. Proteggere l’anonimato dei partecipanti. Che sia nella forma di un dibattito, di un focus group o di un’attività più creativa la partecipazione al laboratorio online è in forma anonima. Questo significa che non è necessario specificare nessun dato anagrafico per essere ammesso (né nome, né età, né professione, luogo di nascita o residenza, appartenenza sociale, stato civile, schieramento politico, ideologico, genere, appartenenza religiosa, etnica, ecc.)

Qualora uno voglia condividere con gli altri una qualunque di queste informazioni, è pregato 1.1 di non farlo durante la charrette o attraverso i canali di CHARRETTES LAB

Invece tutte le fonti citate (se si vuole farne uso) vanno esplicitate, in modo che tutti possano riconoscerne la provenienza. Si consiglia di utilizzare fonti non di parte, o almeno non eccessivamente di parte, ma nella consapevolezza che un’informazione del tutto disinteressata è difficile da reperire il più delle volte, almeno specifichiamo sempre la fonte (sito web, link, giornale, fonte autorevole, personaggio pubblico ecc.) cosicché tutti possano prenderne atto

Non si tratta principalmente di una misura per proteggere la privacy dei partecipanti, ma di una misura di cautela per tentare di evitare che appartenenze rigide, stereotipi o prese di posizioni possano inquinare la discussione ancora prima che si sia capito il punto di vista della persona nella discussione in svolgimento

2. Chiunque può proporre un argomento di discussione. Non è necessario essere un esperto in materia, non è necessario assumere punti di vista che realmente si riconoscano come propri. Per esempio, uno potrebbe benissimo proporre una discussione su un tema caldo nel web in quel momento (pro vs no pass), e decidere di assumere un punto di vista rivale a quello che generalmente prende (che sia no o pro pass) soltanto per poterne capire le motivazioni da una prospettiva nuova per lui. Ovviamente, chiunque (anche chi propone l’argomento da trattare) può cambiare punto di vista anche durante la charrette, le uniche cose da tenere presente sono che 2.1 non si può andare off topic nel corso della charrette; 2.2 non si può monopolizzare nessuna discussione, neanche per una presunta buona conoscenza dell’argomento (quello che si può fare è condividere le proprie esperienze e relative considerazioni); 2.3 non si discute per convincere nessuno a fare suo il nostro punto di vista. Non si discute in generale per convincere (neanche se stessi), ma per condividere, confrontarsi, cercare di comprendere punti opposti ai propri e cercare tra tutte le posizioni punti di possibile convergenza

Queste regole sono state redatte come una sorta di invito a chiedere (a noi prima di tutto, poi agli altri) uno scambio di idee il più possibile leale, critico, attento e civile. Non stiamo partendo dal presupposto che la comunità di CHARRETTES LAB sia già matura e solida, ma se voi credete ti poter chiedere a voi stessi una partecipazione insieme onesta e impegnata, allora pensiamo di poterci fidare nello stesso modo.

3. Non è possibile guidare nessuna discussione. Questo significa che le nostre charrettes sono esperimenti un po’ scostanti la tradizionale interpretazione. Non ci sono gestori, amministratori, capi gruppo o altro. Ognuno è libero (ed è caldamente invitato) a partecipare portando tutte le sue riflessioni e allo stesso modo ad ascoltare e riflettere su quelle degli altri. Di volta in volta si deciderà insieme come rendere la discussione ordinata, se e quali punti programmare, se e con quali attività aggiuntive arricchire la charrette, quanto a lungo debba durare, quando fare le due votazioni e tutte le altre questioni amministrative che non sono contenute in queste regole. Tutte le decisioni verranno prese di comune accordo, secondo un confronto ragionato e prendendosi i dovuti tempi. 

CHARRETTES LAB si regge sul presupposto che l’arena di partecipazione dal basso è un’arena sperimentale. Nessuno può guidare una discussione perché nessuno sa da solo come dovrebbe funzionare questo microcosmo di democrazia dal basso. Ricordiamoci che CHARRETTES LAB è un esperimento, e come tale ha bisogno del contributo attivo e volontario di tutti, senza imposizioni o condizionamenti anche minimi che provengano “dall’alto”

4. All’inizio e alla fine di ogni charrette si terrà una votazione. Queste si svolgeranno attraverso due sondaggi a cui saranno invitati a partecipare tutti quelli che hanno avuto un ruolo (anche solo di lettori passivi) nella charrette. Si dovrà esprimere la propria risposta prima e dopo la discussione anche qualora questa sia rimasta invariata. Nella prima votazione è possibile esprimere un punto di vista fittizio come da esempio nella regola 2. Non è possibile farlo nella votazione finale, che dovrà tenere conto soltanto della riflessione successiva a tutti gli incontri con gli altri partecipanti la charrette e delle proprie conclusioni

Le votazioni sono uno strumento per raccogliere dati sullo svolgimento delle charrettes. Da soli non dicono abbastanza, ma mi impegnerò a conservarli di volta in volta allegati da una breve descrizione di come è andata la discussione che sarà pubblicata e visibile a chiunque voglia leggerla. Naturalmente in forma del tutto anonima (non saranno riportati i nomi nè i nickname dei partecipanti)

Grazie

17.10.2021

[dr-archeville]

10 great RPGs that aren't Dungeons and Dragons [source]

The List

Blades in the Dark (John Harper, Evil Hat Productions)

Symbaroum ( Mattias Johnsson & Mattias Lilja, Jarnringen)

Deadlands Reloaded (Shane Lacy Hensley & B.D. Flory, Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group)

A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying (Robert J. Schwalb, Green Ronin Publishing)

Hot War (Malcolm Craig, Contested Ground Studios)

Cyberpunk (Mike Pondmsith, R. Talsorian Games) and Shadowrun (Bob Charrette & Tom Dowd & Paul Hume, FASA/Fantasy Productions/Catalyst Lab Games)

Ten Candles: A Roleplaying Game of Tragic Horror (Stephen Dewey, Cavalry Games)

The Expanse Roleplaying Game (Chris Pramas & Steve Kenson, Green Ronin Publishing)

Call of Cthulhu (Sandy Petersen & Lynn Willis [and Paul Fricker & Mike Mason], Chaosium)

Night Witches (Jason Morningstar, Bully Pulpit Games)

Video is 31 min long.

[brandondonnelly]

2017 year in review

I just finished going through my list of 2017 goals. I didn’t accomplish everything I wanted to, but I did manage to check off a number of professional and personal goals.

Some of the remaining goals have been pushed to 2018. But there are also items that I have since realized aren’t worth pursuing and so I have dropped them from the list.

All that said, it was a great year. Here is a rapid-fire summary of 2017 told through posts from this blog.

The province of Ontario rejected Toronto’s proposed road toll plan. The plan wasn’t perfect, but it was a step in the right direction. Unfortunate short-sightedness.

Honest Ed’s -- a Toronto landmark -- said farewell. Certainly the end of an era for many people in this city. I just went to the farewell party.

Toronto continued to demonstrate that it is a terrific place for tech and startups. Top Hat announced a $22.5 million (USD) Series-C funding round.

I went heliboarding, which is something that had been lingering on the bucket list for far too long. Easily one of my greatest life experiences.

Snapchat Spectacles became more broadly available. Highly promising, I thought, but then Instagram ripped off Stories. Product ended up bombing. Still, we had a riot playing with the glasses in Whistler.

Designing for families in high-rises became a priority here in Toronto. And there’s evidence that the market is starting to respond. We are certainly trying to.

Studio Gang Architects announced their first project in Toronto and in Canada.

I followed through on my personal goal of returning to photography as a hobby.

Autonomous vehicles received even more discussion and debate. Relevant video here. Relevant post here. The post is a good summary of the possible impacts of autonomy. Do not assume that the notion of a “car” will remain the same. 

My fascination with Berlin and techno music continued.

Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan was announced. Coupled with changes to the way development applications get appealed, it was a year of significant change for the real estate and development industry. Next is inclusionary zoning.

We discovered that population density actually impacts how people vote.

Opendoor continued its mission of trying to reinvent the way homes are bought and sold. By May 2017 they were selling 300 homes per month.

Americans continued to follow the sun and sprawl and relocate to warmer southern cities.

Meaningful progress was made with respect to laneway housing in Toronto. But we’re not quite there yet. The city refused my laneway house in the summer. Significant community opposition. 2018 will bring further positive change.

The mania around Hamilton (Ontario) kicked into high gear. Hamiltonians got grouchy about the increase in Toronto expats. Slate acquired a retail plaza / development site and hosted a “pre-design community meeting.”

Amazon bought Whole Foods for $13.4 billion. A big deal as they clearly work to figure out online grocery.

I participated in an interesting design charrette organized by B+H Advance Strategy about the “mall of the future.” Everyone is trying to figure out the future of retail right now.

Everyone and their grandmother started buying Bitcoin. Small Swiss canton continues to try and establish itself as “Crypto Valley.”

Slate and Globizen introduced Junction House.

I hit the 4 year mark on this daily blog.

2017 became the year of the condo in the Greater Toronto Area. Or at least that’s what I used in the headline.

Amazon announced need for second HQ. Every city in North America goes nuts. I predicted that Toronto would win (even before Sidewalk Labs made its Toronto announcement). We’ll see what happens in 2018. Though, I still think Toronto is winning this.

The “night mayor” finally crossed the pond with New York City Council voting to establish the Office of Nightlife. Toronto should have moved on this sooner.

We announced new Buca concept and unveiled Ravine Bench at Yonge + St. Clair (Toronto). #SitTO

Tony Seba predicted that 2021 will be the year that the economics flip for autonomous electric vehicles. Internal combustion engine and individual car ownership to be disrupted.

Singapore capped vehicle growth at 0%.

London released a new Plan in draft form. Strong emphasis on optimizing housing density and on going car-free.

King Street Transit Pilot launched in Toronto. Streetcar speeds increased overnight. Some concerns that it could be impacting businesses along the street.

Developer Urban Capital published Volume 7 of its annual Site Magazine. I penned article about their pan-Canadian mission to build from coast to coast.

Thanks for reading. Onward my friends.

[lessuricatesvoyageurs]

19/08/19 #Helsinki, Porvoo 1/2 Nous y sommes, dernier post... Car demain, nous prenons l'avion pour Genève. Une petite boule au ventre s'est fait son nid. Nous sommes actuellement hébergés chez Heidi et Yuri et leurs deux filles via Couchsurfing. Très pratique, la capitale finlandaise dispose d'un réseau de RER bien fourni pour desservir la périphérie dans laquelle nous dormons. Parmi les visites touristiques que nous avons réalisées, l'île de Suomenlinna était bien jolie. Petite île de garnison qui a traversé l'histoire et les guerres, 800 personnes vivent sur ce petit archipel rocheux qui voit défiler un nombre impressionnant de touristes. Ce qui nous aura marqué au-delà des points de vue et autres bâtiments militaires, c'est la présence d'une prison reculée hors des sentiers battus. Celle-ci est étonnante par son absence visuelle de contrôle policier et sécuritaire. Intrigués, nous avons fait quelques recherches sur ce lieu qui s'apparente à une auberge dans laquelle 80 prisonniers hommes résident sous contrôle de bracelet électronique. La plupart sont en fin de peine et leur séjour vise à la réinsertion par le travail et la vie sociale. 13 autres édifices de ce type existent en Finlande, à priori loin de la surpopulation carcérale à la française. Nous aurons profité de ce dernier week-end ensoleillé en flânant parmi les marchés aux puces jonchant les trottoirs et en nous rendant à la fête des récoltes du quartier de Herttoniemen (s'apparentant aux jardins ouvriers français). La nouvelle bibliothèque nationale flambant neuve (ouverture décembre 2018) est également impressionnante à visiter. Utilisant les nouvelles technologies dernier cri, elle propose des espaces de coworking, des studios de répétition, un fab-lab équipé d'imprimantes 3D, des espaces dédiés aux jeux vidéos... Laissant dubitatif quant au choix de s'inscrire radicalement dans la modernité, elle a le mérite de démocratiser un certain nombres d'outils, de technologies, d'objets culturels. L'une de nos dernières soirées fut particulièrement détendue, car nous nous sommes rendus au festival alternatif de Sompasauna. Situé au bout d'un isthme, Sompasauna est un ensemble de saunas autogérés par un collectif tout au long l'année. Ce festival mettait en scène différents styles de musique toute la journée et soirée, pendant que les 100aines de visiteurs pouvait se détendre gratuitement dans l'un des saunas. Cet événement illustre particulièrement bien la culture finnoise et nous pousse à vous décrire quelques anecdotes pêchées à droite à gauche sur ces lieux lors de notre séjour. On vous aura déjà expliqué que la Finlande est le pays qui dispose du plus grand nombre de saunas par habitants au monde. Cette addiction s'illustre par les plus motivés qui en construisent dans des lieux improbables. Pour commencer doucement, il faut savoir qu'ici même les appartements récents (plutôt haut gamme, on l'imagine bien) disposent de leur propre sauna (électriques malheureusement). Comme actuellement chez nos hôtes. Certains Finnois en construisent sur l'eau. Sur une simple barge de la taille de la pièce chauffée à des 10aines de degrés qui ensuite dérive au gré des fléaux (sur mer ou lac). D'autres encore en installent sous l'eau. Nous n'avons pas bien compris le système pour entrer ni pour isoler le compartiment, mais l'idée nous a particulièrement fait rire. D'autres férus en construisent des portatifs. Sur une simple charrette ou remorque pour rendre visite, ou encore dans un camping-car construit à partir d'un ancien bus scolaire. Un type de sauna est aussi bien marrant (nous n'aurons malheureusement pas eu la chance d'essayer). Les smoked saunas ont la particularité d'avoir l'âtre du feu en plein milieu de la pièce sans cheminée pour évacuer la fumée. Nécessitant plusieurs heures de chauffe, les utilisateurs ont ensuite besoin de laisser s'évacuer la fumée par quelques trous dans la toiture. Dangereux, les accidents ne sont pas rares. Enfin, la dernière anecdote est bien rigolote. La fille de nos derniers hôtes devait prochainement se rendre à Hamburg, pour visiter de la famille. Sans sauna individuel, la famille a élaboré une stratégie afin de ne pas déroger à la tradition. Les saunas étant moins courant en Allemagne, une église finnoise (probablement luthérienne) héberge son propre sauna dans les sous-sols. Ces quelques dernières lignes viennent donc conclure la fin de notre périple. Nous nous sommes donc amusés à quelques calculs. Après 31 cars, 16 trains, et 4 voitures, nous avons parcouru plus de 10 100km terrestres et visité 16 pays en 234 jours. Nous avons dormi (ou pas) dans 51 lits différents et séjourné chez 11 couchsurfers et 11 fermes ou projets. Nous avons capté plus de 35Go de photos ou vidéos. Sur notre route, nous avons travaillé environ 610h bénévolement chacun, ce qui équivaut à 4 mois de temps plein. Avec un certain baume au cœur, nous clôturons donc ce blog. Peut-être d'ici à d'autres aventures. Qui sait? L'Amérique du Sud, le Canada...?

[ilovemyarchitect]

The @FelicianoCenter’s @MIXLabDesign Design Charrette for “B.E.L.A.” Summer High School Program Entailing the Redevelopment of a Significant Urban Historic Site #UrbanPlanning #Redevelopment #Business #Entrepreneur #Education #HighSchool #DesignThink #Innovation #MixLabDesign #NJEd @MontclairStateU

On July 9, 2019, in the capacity of University Architect at Montclair State University (and Alumni of the Feliciano School of Business). I had the privilege of participating in a design charrette with a local high school. The project consists of an urban redevelopment site with a precious historical building at the site. I was invited by the people who run the Montclair State University MIX Lab(F…

[cooperhewitt]

Process Lab: Citizen Design

By Brian Phillips, Deb Katz, and Alexandra Gauzza, ISA

ISA—Interface Studio Architects—is an architecture office engaged in design and research projects in cities across the U.S.A. Its work is featured in the exhibition By the People: Designing a Better America, curated by Cynthia Smith, Curator of Socially Responsible Design at Cooper Hewitt.

While designing and making buildings is essential to our practice as architects, we have been interested in more than just buildings from the beginning. As a design firm we hope to have a broader influence, connecting directly with everyday issues facing cities and the people that live in them. Our practice is focused on engaging with the subjects and challenges of marginalized, modest-budget, and mundane situations where we believe design can have a big impact. In this context, our work with the public is focused on designing experiences and encouraging conversations that unlock fresh perspectives, both for us as designers and for the people who directly and indirectly encounter it.

The current iteration of the Process Lab grew out of a project called Gray Area, a series of designed publications and events in Philadelphia that were funded by the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage. Gray Area engaged community members to look critically at historic preservation in Philly, posing provocative questions to diverse groups of public and private stakeholders. As part of the Gray Area project, we developed a card deck allowing participants to self-direct tabletop conversations focused on the context, personal experiences, design possibilities, and potential results of a range of approaches to existing and developing urban fabric.

An alternative to conventional planning charrettes, GRAY AREA encourages residents to express and listen to often opposing opinions. Provocation cards and design tactic cards structure the discussion and design thinking process.

Provocation cards (two on left) ask pointed questions to start discussion about preservation and help determine whether to save, destroy, or leverage diverse sites for current future revitalization needs. Design tactic cards (four on right) allow people to associate new uses and values with existing context, provoking them to think outside of the box.

Gray Area allowed us to prototype tools and experiences embracing the undistilled complexity of the design process, empowering the public to participate in a collective discussion about potentially divisive and challenging issues facing communities. The Process Lab: Citizen Design project was exciting to us as a means to retool this method of working for a broad audience of design-intrigued museumgoers. We were interested in better understanding how to share design strategies in a way that’s accessible to many people while also working within the vocabulary of the design professional. We believe this is a territory of mutual respect, creativity, and inspiration for all.

Cooper Hewitt invited us to build on the lessons of Gray Area, collaborating with Cooper Hewitt on an experience in the Process Lab to run in parallel with the exhibition By the People: Designing a Better America. The charge was to create a larger-scale interactive design environment that invites museum visitors to bring their own knowledge and experience to bear on provocative questions tied in to the broader exhibition content—issues like access to healthy food, affordable housing, and urban environments. The challenge was to translate the intimacy of the conversation facilitated by the Gray Area format to the anonymous setting of an institutional gallery. The Process Lab: Citizen Design model empowers a corps of civilian designers to take design thinking into daily life and gain insight into the process that leads to the designed world around them. It also helps us as professional designers to better understand the demands and possibilities of the everyday built environment that defines the experience of the public; these types of engagements create a shared vocabulary between citizen and professional.

Process Lab: Citizen Design installation view.

Working with the Cooper Hewitt team, we conceived Process Lab: Citizen Design as a workshop for making. The intent was to put people to work in imagining novel responses to design questions relevant to their communities. We aimed to create a visually provocative and clearly organized experience, balancing a simple, linear process with challenging activities offering open-ended possibilities for conversation and creation. We collaborated with Cooper Hewitt to structure the content in a manner that was easy to engage with on a variety of levels, including full participation in concept creation as well as observation of others’ ideas.

Process Lab: Citizen Design installation.

The result of Process Lab: Citizen Design is a hands-on workshop where thousands of design ideas are being created, documented, and archived—all representing citizen answers to one of twelve questions that articulate key challenges of our collective cultural moment. With recent political events, our broader ambition for citizen participation at a substantive level feels particularly relevant. We like the notion of moving toward the pragmatic realities of problem solving through grounded and collective intelligence. We hope that the Process Lab: Citizen Design can serve as a moment of reflection on the world around us and the potential to improve daily lives through design.

Process Lab: Citizen Design, an extension of By the People: Designing a Better America, is on view at Cooper Hewitt through September 17, 2017. The card decks for Values, Questions, and Design Tactics in Process Lab: Citizen Design are available for download.

For more information on ISA, visit: is-architects.com http://ift.tt/2jPSA43 http://ift.tt/2j4wzuc

from Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum http://ift.tt/2jPZ03c via IFTTT

[dorcasrempel]

MIT announces plans for fall 2020 semester

In inviting some of its undergraduates back to campus for the fall semester, MIT will prioritize seniors — to allow them to progress toward completion of their degrees in 2021 — as well as others who need to be on campus, or who require in-person instruction, to succeed in their coursework.

Across the board, undergraduate costs for the coming academic year will be reduced substantially: Tuition will be held at last year’s level, eliminating a planned 2020-21 increase announced earlier, and undergraduates will receive a $5,000 grant to offset their annual cost to attend MIT. Undergraduates living on campus will see a 40 percent reduction in dining costs, and all undergraduates will be offered at least one semester of a paid research, teaching, or service opportunity in the coming academic year, carrying a stipend of up to $1,900. Finally, the Institute has adjusted its financial aid budget to meet families’ greater needs in a difficult economy — and aid calculations will assume a room-and-board expense of $4,000 per semester, which will serve to increase financial aid and help defray living expenses.

Many graduate students and research staff will also be allowed on campus for the fall. But to limit the density of the campus population, most administrative staff who can work remotely will continue to do so. And everyone with access to campus buildings will be required to comply with an extensive set of public health regulations, with campus health conditions tracked closely through a variety of data.

These and other details regarding the fall semester were announced today in a letter to the MIT community from President L. Rafael Reif.

Developed through a careful analysis of health conditions and logistics, engagement with government officials, and extensive feedback from across its community, the Institute’s approach will advance its mission of experiential education and innovative research on its Cambridge campus — albeit in modified form due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has placed populations at risk around the globe.

Today’s news builds upon President Reif’s June 17 announcement that MIT will offer a traditional two-semester academic year in 2020-21, with adjusted start and end dates. While instruction will be online for undergraduates away from campus, for those on campus there will be a combination of online and in-person instruction. Faculty and administrators across the Institute are striving to deliver outstanding remote learning in the fall.

“In terms of public health our strategy is conservative and reflects our awareness of how much we do not know about the future of the virus or the efforts to fight it,” President Reif wrote in today’s letter.

“To navigate the many painful trade-offs, we relied on bedrock principles: protecting the health of our entire community, preserving our ability to deliver on MIT’s mission of teaching and research, enabling students to stay on track to their degrees — and doing all this with equity, fairness and caring,” the letter said.

A strong framework of safety protocols will undergird MIT’s activities for all students, faculty, and staff on campus, including required regular Covid-19 testing and a contact tracing system, mandatory mask-wearing, daily health attestations, and limited access to campus buildings. MIT has drawn upon some of its academic strengths to make these systems feasible — including use of the Broad Institute to process Covid-19 test results, and the rapid development of the COVID Pass system, by MIT’s Information Systems and Technology staff, through which community members will provide health attestations.

The plans represent a collective effort by the MIT administration, faculty, students, and staff. Many working groups have studied specific issues in detail, drawing on Covid-19 data and a close knowledge of campus operations. The Institute has also undertaken extensive community engagement, soliciting feedback through virtual town halls, charrettes (focused discussions), and surveys; a majority of MIT’s undergraduates responded to one such survey within 36 hours this spring.  

“To solve any problem at MIT, especially one as complicated as how to reopen the campus this fall, we look to our community members — especially our students, staff, and faculty — to provide us insights,” says Ian Waitz, vice chancellor for undergraduate and graduate education, and co-lead of the Team 2020 working group that has played a leading role in developing plans for the coming academic year. “Ultimately, we have faced a difficult challenge — how to develop the best response, given many trade-offs, a complex education and research enterprise, and a very uncertain future trajectory for the pandemic — while maximizing engagement to shape our understanding and our choices.”

Certainly, while MIT’s core functions will continue, many things on campus will be different this fall. MIT’s famed Infinite Corridor will not be packed with people; there will be no tourists taking photos inside the Stata Center; the Institute will not host any large events. But in order to invite additional members of its community back to campus, MIT’s plan for fall 2020 will include the following elements.

The plan for undergraduates on campus

Under the fall 2020 plan, the fraction of MIT’s roughly 4,500 undergraduates who will spend the semester in campus housing was determined by the number of undergraduates MIT can house in private rooms, as well as its capacity for regular testing and contact tracing — and the need to take a prudent, cautious approach about both the uncertainties about the pandemic and the Institute’s operations as it seeks to execute all aspects of its safety controls.

Seniors and undergraduates who cannot reasonably study elsewhere — for example, those who are unable to return home, those who have home environments that significantly impair remote learning, those who have no other place to live, or those for whom being at home would be unsafe — will be given priority in MIT’s decisions on invitations back to campus for the fall. MIT’s leadership currently hopes to be able to host first-year students, sophomores, and juniors on campus for the spring semester; crucially, by early 2021, additional housing will come online following the completion of construction and renovation projects.

Most undergraduate instruction will take place online this fall, with on-campus students receiving supplementary in-person teaching in small groups, when possible, such as for lab work, design studios, project-based classes, and performance-based courses.

The semester will have an altered schedule, starting one week earlier than usual. Classes will begin on Sept. 1, and undergraduates will depart campus before Thanksgiving to minimize back-and-forth travel during the busy holiday period. Undergraduates will continue classes online after Thanksgiving, and final exams will occur Dec. 14-18. MIT currently expects its 2021 Independent Activities Period (IAP) to be remote, although there may be some variations by program.

Other effects of Covid-19 on the fall semester will include:

Fraternities, Sororities, and Independent Living Groups (FSILG) facilities will not be open this fall, but residents will be engaged in virtual community-building, and MIT will continue to support them.

Campus buildings will only be open to those students invited back to campus for the fall semester. Other students living in the Boston area — whether at a family home, or in off-campus housing — will not be able to access campus buildings.

Athletics will be suspended for the fall semester.

To foster physical distancing, residence hall kitchens will not be available for cooking; meal plans will be mandatory for undergraduates living on campus. However, MIT will offer a 40 percent reduction in the cost of meal plans for the fall semester.

Research, graduate students, and staff

Most MIT research labs reopened in mid-June, initially with minimal in-person staffing. However, returning for lab work is voluntary, and personnel must wear masks, use personal protective equipment (PPE), file daily health attestations, and work in physically distanced settings.

“We are thrilled to have over 3,000 of our researchers back in their labs and research spaces working on in-person experiments that require campus facilities,” stated Maria Zuber, MIT’s vice president of research, and Tyler Jacks, the David H. Koch Professor of Biology and chair of an Institute committee on restoring research functions, in a June 18 letter. “Many in our community are now able to resume their data collection and continue developing innovative solutions to address the most daunting challenges facing the world.”

However, Zuber and Jacks added, “Our community’s ability to continue to work as a team and adhere to the established protocols will be critical.”

Many of MIT’s roughly 7,000 graduate students will also be permitted on campus in the fall. Graduate student residence halls on the MIT campus will open at about 85 percent of total capacity, to create physical distancing.

Many MIT staff members will continue to work remotely in the fall, to help limit the on-campus population. Other staff, such as facilities workers and campus police, have continued to work onsite throughout the pandemic.

“I am grateful for the dedication of the many staff members across MIT who have continued to come to campus during this pandemic to safeguard and care for the campus and the MIT community,” says Tony Sharon, acting deputy executive vice president, and co-lead of the Team 2020 working group. “I also want to recognize the many staff members who have continued to work tirelessly from home, to enable the ramp-up of critical research activities, and to extend our online teaching and work-from-home capabilities.”

While many services will be handled remotely, they will still be available, during what will likely be a period of uncertainty for many students.

“Whether students are on campus or among the large contingent of students working off-campus, we want everyone to know that MIT’s network of support resources is available whenever and wherever it is needed,” says Suzy Nelson, vice president and dean for student life. “We know life on campus will be very different for everyone this fall, and I encourage any student who feels the need to reach out to connect with us. We are here for you.”

Extensive safety protocols

In order to make on-campus education and research possible, MIT is implementing an extensive series of protocols to limit the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

All students, faculty, and staff will be tested when they arrive on campus. MIT will also be conducting frequent testing and screening. Community members will have to file a daily health attestation to help identify those who may have Covid-19 symptoms. Wearing masks on campus will continue to be a requirement. Compliance with these protocols will be a critical part of campus life.

Mindful of privacy issues, the Institute’s Legal Ethical Equity (LEE) Group for MIT Campus Planning has established guidelines limiting the use of this collected health data. Access to that information is highly restricted, and a “sunset” provision stipulates the data will be deleted once they are no longer operationally necessary.

MIT is enacting numerous measures around building use. Campus buildings will have single, restricted entrances. Institute planners have divided campus into discipline-based research “clusters,” with community members accessing only the buildings where their education and research activities occur. MIT has even created a faculty-led working group studying room ventilation, which has been developing guidelines for use in the fall.

“We all must accept that campus space will be akin to a precious resource for learning and research throughout the remainder of 2020,” Zuber said in a letter to the graduate student community in May, co-authored with MIT Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart, Nelson, and Associate Provost Krystyn Van Vliet.

The letter continued: “In order to be able to share in the benefits of this resource, we will need to commit to looking out for other members of the community who are learning, researching, and working alongside us. This means that wearing face coverings, practicing physical distancing, contributing to good hygiene practices, and getting used to operating within defined campus spaces will be our ‘new normal’ for the foreseeable future.”

Detailed study while engaging the community

Soon after MIT ramped down on-campus activity in mid-March, the Institute began examining the challenges of bringing its community back in a phased fashion. That process has consisted of detailed study of specific issues, often with faculty applying domain expertise, as well as extensive community input.

MIT has also been engaging with government officials who have developed outlines for reopening. Specifically, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has created reopening guidelines for higher education institutions that emphasize four key principles, the first of which is to “protect the health and safety of students, faculty, staff and people in surrounding communities.”

“The Commonwealth has allowed higher-education institutions to develop unique reopening plans that best fit their needs and capabilities, as long as we adhere to strict public health and safety protocols,” says Director of Emergency Management Suzanne Blake. “We will continue to monitor and adhere to state and local guidance to ensure MIT is contributing to the reopening of Massachusetts in a way that is both productive and safe.”

MIT has also staged 11 town hall-style events, including two for the entire community, with the rest focused on students, research, and faculty communities within the Institute; conducted 69 charrettes, with 425 participants; and conducted six detailed community surveys, with significant response levels. For instance, about 3,600 undergraduates, or 79 percent, responded to a survey tailored to them about potential reopening options. A community-wide survey received about 900 full responses, 900 partial responses, and 27,000 comments. Additionally, 17 groups — including parents of MIT students — held self-guided discussions that provided more input for the administration.

“Through surveys, design charrettes, and ongoing conversations with student leaders, we sought to understand what’s important,” Waitz says. “We have been as transparent as possible around our processes, data, sources of expertise, and constraints, from the physical constraints on campus to the availability of testing.”

At the same time, the Team 2020 working group has helped oversee an array of nine focused working groups, which have studied different aspects of campus activities. The Team 2020 group also led regular conference calls in which the community members developing the reopening plans could provide feedback, updates, and propose new questions.

Team 2020, focused on the 2020-21 academic year, is one of three broad efforts to study MIT’s operations in relation to Covid-19. The MIT Covid-19 Response System is developing ways to use research and real-time data to support campus operations and decision making; and Task Force 2021 and Beyond, led by Sanjay Sarma, vice president for open learning, and Rick Danheiser, chair of the faculty, is examining the new challenges and opportunities that may face MIT in a post-Covid-19 world.

All told, MIT has attempted to rigorously examine the advantages and disadvantages of many proposed ideas for the coming academic year. Other formats the Institute considered included holding three semesters, with all students attending two out of the three; waiting until 2021 to start the next semester; keeping all instruction online, with no undergraduates invited back for the fall; and inviting all undergraduates back to campus for the fall.  

Ultimately, the modified two-semester format, with a blend of in-person and online learning, was the approach judged by the Institute’s leadership — as well as the many other community members who offered input — as most feasible and safest for the MIT community. And while campus activities, including this plan, will always be contingent on health and safety conditions, the MIT community now has the benefit of a clear blueprint for the start of the 2020-21 academic year.

The decisions announced today, President Reif wrote in his letter, “amount to a carefully considered forecast for this fall. Its accuracy — and our shared health and safety — certainly depend on the course of the pandemic. But they also depend on each and all of us: On our conscientious care for one another and on our ability to learn from and make the best of this unexpected challenge.”

MIT announces plans for fall 2020 semester syndicated from https://osmowaterfilters.blogspot.com/

[delhi-architect2]

Journal - How a 200-Strong Architecture Firm Successfully Transitioned to Work From Home

The architecture industry has been rocked by the global pandemic, with construction projects caught up in the economic uncertainty caused by governmental lockdowns around the world. However, some firms have reported successes with remote working, with designers taking advantage of modern technology to minimize the impact of the virus.

One such example is industry leading architecture firm SAOTA, which took immediate and decisive action in its response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Last month, the Cape Town based studio closed its offices and successfully migrated its 211-member team to a fully operational working from home (“WFH”) model.

With projects in multiple cities across the globe, most of the work is already remote which ensures a high level of business continuity. Here are some key insights from a design practice accustomed to working remotely.

Migrating to “WFH”

SAOTA has worked on projects in 86 countries across six continents. In times of crisis, a global operation of this scale could face risks, but with most work already remote, the studio has the required systems and tools in place to maintain a high level of business as usual, with meetings, communication and projects continuing as planned.

SAOTA’s work-from-home team; images courtesy SAOTA

“We are established in key cities such as Sydney, Lagos, Los Angeles, Dubai, Geneva, Moscow, St Tropez and more recently Sao Paulo and Shenzhen. This means the majority of our work is remote and we have clients in different time-zones, so the transition was quick. We have been operating virtually for years which is a large benefit,” says SAOTA Director Greg Truen.

Technology and Software

SAOTA is using cloud collaboration for file sharing and conferencing, as well as cloud resource and project management. Cloud resource management is great for mapping out content and ideas and to ensure all team members understand the different stages projects are in. With world-class communication tools in place, the digital workflow has grown even stronger and disruptions are minimal.

A VPN is used for data access and a remote, virtual reception and switchboard has been implemented. Another key cloud-base tool is BIM 360, a unified platform for connecting our project teams and data in real-time. SAOTA was operational as soon as employees were able to switch on their computers at home.

SAOTA relies on virtual reality, specifically LUX Walker

Virtual Reality

Another way SAOTA has addressed the WFH challenge is by utilizing a virtual reality tool, LUX Walker, to ensure ongoing design innovation and uninterrupted client support and engagement.

LUX Walker enables clients to walk through and explore proposed building spaces virtually. A unique characteristic is that one can share the virtual space with multiple other guests or SAOTA designers, based either in the next room or continents apart. LUX Walker was developed by Tenebris Lab, an architect lead and VR focussed technology company that SAOTA invested in.

Virtual Reality, and specifically LUX Walker, has allowed SAOTA to bring its award-winning design capabilities to clients across the globe, all from the home base in Cape Town.

SAOTA are continuing to work hard to serve their client and produce more classic projects like St Leon 10, constructed in 2006 in Cape Town, South Africa

Communication

Digital technology is essential to continue to collaborate among peers and clients. As it is an uncertain time for a lot of people, it is key to check in with teams regularly and to keep communication channels open.

“The internal company events at the core of the SAOTA culture, can continue via video conferencing. One event being a longstanding tradition, Design Fridays – a platform for staff to present current projects and design inspiration to the entire studio – is something we are still able to do and a highlight in the staff calendar,” comments SAOTA Director Stefan Antoni.

RAD (Research, Analyze, Design) sessions are also going ahead. This is SAOTA’s version of an internal Design Charrette, where design teams present their ‘work in progress’ to the broader team and Directors. This fosters collaborative design dialogue and leads to innovative design solutions.

Is your architecture firm finding new solutions to adapt to the ongoing crisis? Send us your photos and information to editorial@architizer.com to be considered for feature.

Top image: Radisson Blu Dakar by SAOTA, Dakar, Senegal

The post How a 200-Strong Architecture Firm Successfully Transitioned to Work From Home appeared first on Journal.

from Journal https://architizer.com/blog/inspiration/industry/saota-work-from-home/ Originally published on ARCHITIZER RSS Feed: https://architizer.com/blog

[connorrenwick]

How Virtual Reality Is Changing the World of Interior Design

In our increasingly digitized world, where everything from our phones to our thermostats is “smart,” it should come as no surprise that virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are starting to play a role in the design industry. It’s a logical relationship: designers have always imagined new or re-imagined existing spaces, created a drawing via analog means or digital ones, and presented that visualization to their clients. It tracks, then, that as drawing technology has advanced from paper, onto a screen, and finally into a three-dimensional projection, designers have adapted to the times.

Courtesy of HOK

Courtesy of HOK

For the average user, virtual reality might be more of a novelty than a helpful tool, best reserved for gaming, amusement-park simulator rides, or a fun “experience,” like walking on the moon. But its practical applications are manifold, from helping doctors practice difficult surgeries to teaching teenagers how to drive cars safely to allowing jurors in a courtroom to virtually visit a crime scene. In the interior design field, however, VR technology is actually less about helping designers who are creating works and more about helping them communicate those ideas to clients.

Courtesy of HOK

“While designers are used to interpreting 2D representations of designs like floor plans, elevations, and finish boards, non-design professionals typically have more trouble visualizing the experience of being in spaces proposed by 2D representations,” says Jess Bayuk, a design technology specialist in global design firm HOK’s New York office. “Virtual reality and augmented reality allows viewers to get a better sense of how a space will look and feel in a 3D mode of representation that is more like the everyday experience.”

Courtesy of Primer

That’s why there has been such a proliferation of augmented reality design apps in the consumer market. Take the app Primer, for instance, which launches on March 31. Users will be able to use their phone’s camera to virtually install real-life wallpapers, paints, and tiles from brands like Farrow & Ball, Hygge & West, and Cle Tile into their home, allowing them to visualize what each product will look like under the room’s lighting conditions and existing furniture. “With Primer, all the guesswork is removed – customers no longer have to visualize what a pattern will look like in their home, because the app shows them,” Hygge & West co-founder Aimee Lagos said in a statement. “Primer lets people buy with confidence, and confident purchases make happy homes.”

Courtesy of IKEA

There are also a plethora of AR apps designed to place furniture in your home. Some brands, like IKEA and Pottery Barn, have developed their own apps to showcase their collections, while others, like DecorMatters and roOomy, tap into a range of commercially available products. And if you need to measure a room? There’s also an app for that. Cubit, which we’ve previously reviewed, combines analog technology (in this case, lasers and a rolling sensor) with augmented reality, allowing you to take precise measurements of a space and immediately project them onto a live feed of that space via an app and your phone’s camera.

But professional designers are finding more ways to use the technology to their advantage. “HOK designers also use VR and AR for projects like labs and clinical spaces to share adjacencies and verify that designs will work with desired workflows,” says Bayuk. “We can then review the programming in detail with the researchers and clinicians who will use the spaces.”

Courtesy of HOK

Beyond that, HOK has even developed its own VR app – one that anyone in the industry or the general public can download for free – in order to better facilitate its own design processes. “The HOK VR App enables users to quickly upload 360-degree panoramas and package them in a way that is easy to share during a design team charrette or client review,” says Bayuk. “The app also allows for VR meetings where multiple stakeholders can view VR panoramas together in real time, and then comment and annotate them collaboratively.”

While for now, designers might stick to sketches when conjuring up their ideas, there may be a near future in which you can enter a Matrix-style virtual space and mold it to your liking with a simple hand gesture or even just a glance. And given this virulent world we live in, these kinds of virtual tools may become a necessity.

Stefanie Waldek is a Brooklyn-based writer covering architecture, design, and travel. You can find her words in Architectural Digest, Condé Nast Traveler, House Beautiful, Business Insider, The Washington Post, and more.

via http://design-milk.com/

from WordPress https://connorrenwickblog.wordpress.com/2020/03/19/how-virtual-reality-is-changing-the-world-of-interior-design/

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