New Urban Voices at MAKLab
Our New Urban Voices project aimed to help groups of young people in Dundee and Angus to influence and lead change in their local communities. A collaboration with Creative Frontline, we paired groups of young people with experienced designers, artists and council workers in an effort to play a part in their changing areas. In Angus, the project continues to focus on the upcoming community campus – what would make it feel more like part of the community, and how it can feel like a valuable resource for the whole community of Forfar and not ‘just a school’.
Last week we brought project participants to the MAKLab digital fabrication studio in Glasgow – pupils from across all year groups of Forfar Academy designed ideas for the campus and brought them to life through model making. They thought about the look and feel of the internal environment – decoration, signage, colour schemes; and, the outdoor spaces on campus – how they might be used for learning, relaxation and welcome. Prototypes were created through laser cutting, laser etching, 3D printing, glue guns and other traditional model making methods and materials. They created some signage for the inside of the building, but mostly focused their efforts on the outdoor spaces, building models of:
Outdoor classrooms
‘Nature-hide’ study rooms with working lights
Water features to highlight all the schools and communities connected to the campus
Play parks for all ages
Viewing decks and work platform
School ‘house’ seating area
Summer houses for socialising and games
Standing stones for a ‘quiet reflective space’
And, new recycling bins for all around the campus
An amazing day was had by all and the team at MAKLab – specifically Delphine, Andrew and Louise – were amazing with the group. It was great to see the young people so quickly making sense of how their designs might come to life in conversations with the MAKlab team, and to see them getting set up and working independently after only brief instructions and guidance on the software.
All of the models created will be exhibited both within the school to other pupils and staff and also in their local community at community engagement and pop–up events in August and beyond.
Funded by Kickstarter, Creative Scotland, the RSA, Dundee City Council and Angus Council.