Inspiring the next generation of designers, architects and engineers!
What
- Architecture and engineering workshop (2 days)
- Pavilion construction (2 days)
The 2-day workshop were a mix of short talks from professionals about architecture and engineering, and design workshops to allow the students to put what they’ve learnt into action. In small teams they designed a pavilion to meet a real brief for a structure in the heart of Nottingham, with a given set of materials; creating concept sketches and models, detailed drawings and explaining how they’d build it. At the end of the weekend the teams presented their designs to a panel of friendly architects and engineers from academia and industry.
The workshops provide an opportunity for students to…
- develop an understanding of what architects and engineers do
- consider new careers and tailor their A-levels to match
- gain experience for their personal statement
- have a fun and creative weekend!
… as well as providing an opportunity for design professionals to…
- teach the fundamentals of their careers
- develop hands-on teaching, designing and construction skills
- meet other like-minded designers
- ensure our industries become more diverse and representative
Following the workshops the team developed the winning Pavilion concept; “The Social Shell” into a fully buildable design. The Social Shell is cut entirely from 61 sheets of Performance Plywood using CNC routers. The design was refined to minimise the work on site, maximise material efficiency and minimise the need for metal bracketry, instead preferring slotted bearing or bolted connections.
The pavilion was assembled on 5th July 2019 in Old Market Square in the heart of
Nottingham City Centre by a group of volunteers from the local architecture, engineering and construction industry. The pavilion will form a key part of the annual Nottingham Beach attraction, open until 1st September.
The flat-pack kit-of-parts design enabled the pavilion to be installed in just one day! A real triumph for all involved in the design process.
The construction in statistics:
- 61 sheets of plywood
- 300m of sanding
- 450 bolts
- 900 washers
- 400m of string
- 7.5ton lorry
- 1 day to build
Community engagement has always been at the heart of this project with the students being updated along the way. We encourage anyone who finds themselves in Nottingham to head down to Old Market Square and experience the Social Shell for themselves.
Read all about it in a neat booklet here!
Next Generation Design Nottingham follows on from five previous design-build workshops in London (2018; 2017; 2016; 2015) and Birmingham (2017)
Workshops
All photos by Thilo Willems
Construction
Team
Organisers: Stuart + Emily + Thilo + Wiktoria + Harriet + Matt + Dimitar
Lecturers: + Alison + Azween + Angel + Sandra + Jiax + Gavin + Talya
Jury: Chris + Lois + Joe + Steve
With
The workshops were attended by GCSE students from the following local schools:
South Wolds Academy
Friesland School
Belper Sixth Form and Academy
Nottingham Girls Academy
The Nottingham Emmanuel School
When
14-15/07/18 – Workshop
Early July 2019 – Preparation, Construction & Assembly
July/August 2019 – Display in Old Market Square, Nottingham
Project Awards
IStructE Midlands Regional Group – Arts and Entertainment Structures Award – Winner 2019
ICE East Midlands Merit Awards – Small Project winner 2020
Support and thanks
Arup and Leonard Design (for organising and supporting the workshop design and construction of the pavilion)
The Arup Community Engagement Fund (for funding the material and fabrication costs of the project)
Nottingham Trent University (for providing the workshop venue free of charge, and a number of volunteers over the weekend)
Mellor’s Group (for hosting the construction and display at their annual Nottingham Beach attraction)
Quad CNC (for cutting the plywood components)
Hanson plywood (for much appreciated supply of plywood for another Scale Rule pavilion)
Resources
All the slides from the workshops can be downloaded from the Resources page. If you’d like to run a similar workshop feel free to use them, but please let us know about it!
SCALE RULE 