Design Kit: The Human-Centered Design Toolkit In April 2015, IDEO.org launched an exciting new evolution of the HCD Toolkit the Field Guide to Human-Centered Design. The Field Guide is the latest in IDEO.org’s suite of teaching tools and a step forward in sharing the practice and promise of human-centered design with the social sector. A full-color, 192-page book, the Field Guide comes with 57 design methods, the key mindsets that underpin how and why IDEO.org believes design can change lives, a full slate of worksheets, and case studies from projects that show human-centered design in action. The Field Guide was funded by more than 1300 backers in a Kickstarter campaign that reaching nearly three times its initial goal.
16 Startups Poised to Disrupt the Education Market How pricey is a traditional four-year education? So pricey that even the mayor of New York City, who lives rent-free, earns $225K per annum, and owns two Brooklyn homes, considers the cost of schooling his two children "a big challenge," according to a recent New York Times story. In a new book, The End of College: Creating the Future of Learning and the University of Everywhere, author Kevin Carey distills a brave new world in which a myriad of lower-cost solutions--most in their infancy--threaten to upend the four-year, high-tuition business model by which colleges and universities have traditionally thrived.
The project By whom and how are public spaces in the Greek cities shaped? If the production process of urban public spaces changes, can the image and experience of contemporary Athens be created from scratch? The modern challenges of Athens invite us to think about, seek and process new ways of designing and creating public spaces and, at the same time, dream about and finally put into practice all the ideas that we ourselves would like to experience in a public space. Within the framework of the project entitled as DOMAIN_AGORA, a prototype process of participatory planning is developed, based on civic participation and the creation of cross-sector partnerships in order to jointly make decisions concerning urban regeneration studies. The aim of this project is to explore possible ways of urban revival that will introduce the city’s public spaces as an area of political and cultural creative expression.
Piggybackr Are you a parent, teacher, or student looking for new fundraising ideas for your school? Are you tired of bake sales, Krispy Kreme fundraisers, and car washes? See examples of how students in all 50 states have used crowdfunding to make money for their schools! Piggybackr.com is a crowdfunding website for teams of all ages and experience levels. We’re the only fundraising tool that is instructional and safe for users of all ages. Palimpsest – Collective memory through Virtual Reality / @ialab Created at the Bartlett School of Architecture / Interactive Architecture, Palimpsest uses 3D scanning and virtual reality to record urban spaces and the communities that live in them. The project aims to question/test the implication if the past, present, and future city could exist in the same place, layering personal stories and local histories of the city at a 1:1 scale. In 1998, researchers discovered that mathematical proofs by Archimedes had been overwritten with biblical texts by monks in the 13th century. Documents such as this, with previous erasures still visible beneath the primary text, are known as palimpsests. Architecture can also be a palimpsest: as cities and buildings are modified and re-purposed, traces of their previous lives remain visible.
Innovate Salisbury: An Action Research Project Editor's note: In addition to Ross Cooper, Randy Ziegenfuss and Lynn Fuini-Hetten, the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Salisbury Township School District, contributed to this post. Creating Transformational Learning Experiences We begin with a prominent question for many school and district leaders: What conditions must we create in order to promote the scaling of identified classroom innovations? Crowdfunded Parks Are Coming and That Isn’t a Bad Thing In the last four years, more than 30 new businesses have opened on Broad Avenue in the Binghamton section of Memphis. After years of decline, the wide, storefront-lined avenue is finally rebounding as the spine of a new arts district. Ask locals what drove the change and invariably, they will mention the Hampline, a bike lane connecting Broad to some of the city’s most popular neighborhoods and amenities. The Hampline is being built largely with federal, state and city grants, but when a $75,000 budget hole cropped up in 2013, community leaders decided not to wait for more grant dollars from Washington and instead, turn to a new source of funding: the crowd. The non-profit Broad Avenue Arts District and other local organizations came together to create a campaign on Ioby, a non-profit platform for fundraising for projects that do civic good. Public parks have always relied on support from donors but crowdfunding makes it possible for anyone to give at whatever level they can.
XS architecture vs XL furniture by Worapong Manupipatpong Thai graduate designer Worapong Manupipatpong has created an installation that is halfway between furniture and architecture. The two-level, wooden structures have small ladders leading to their upper platforms and form various places to sit. Manupipatpong built the structures for his graduation project while studying at Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Sweden. "This project is about investigation between the notion of architecture and furniture design," says the designer. "I try to explore another area, where this object is somewhere between these two category, architecture and furniture design."
Impro et Créativité Long before Amy Poehler became famous for her comic roles as Hillary Clinton on “Saturday Night Live,” and as indefatigable bureaucrat Leslie Knope on “Parks and Recreation,” she was a college freshman looking for something to do outside class. During her first week on campus, she auditioned for the school’s improvisational theater group, “My Mother’s Fleabag,” and discovered a passion. “Everyone was getting to act and be funny and write and direct and edit all at the same time,” she writes in her memoir, Yes, Please. “My college life sort of exploded in happiness,” she adds. What Poehler found liberating as a performer — the free-wheeling, creative and judgment-free nature of improv — is what makes it an appealing way to learn.
dezeen Next up in our review of the year, architecture editor Jessica Mairs selects the 10 architecture trends that defined 2016, from the resurgence of minimalism to the next generation of prefabs and the advent of co-living. Minimalist interiors This year we saw an abundance of austere interiors – from apartments and bathrooms to offices – finished with cool-toned marble, uniform woodwork and block coloured walls.
10 Favorite Educational YouTube Channels YouTube is a powerful resource for teaching and learning – if you know where to look. This list of must-watch educational YouTube channels are perfect for finding video clips to share with students in class or in a flipped learning environment. As opposed to an individual video, channels are created by individuals and organizations and are full of related content. dezeen Over 500 houses featured on Dezeen in 2016. Continuing our review of the year, editor Amy Frearson picks out the 10 most exciting properties, including a home-studio with a pyramid garden on its roof and an idyllic rainforest retreat with an infinity pool. Jungle House, Brazil, by Studio MK27 Nestled in a clearing of a coastal forest in Brazil, this house by São Paulo firm Studio MK27 features elevated living spaces that open out to a roof terrace and infinity pool.
Architect Turns Old Cement Factory Into His Home, And The Interior Will Take Your Breath Away When Ricardo Bofill stumbled upon a dilapidated cement factory in 1973, he immediately saw a world of possibilities. La fábrica was born, and almost 45 years later, the structure has been completely transformed into a spectacular and unique home. Show Full Text The factory, located just outside of Barcelona, was a WWI-era pollution machine that had closed down, and came with many repairs to be done when Ricardo Bofill and his team purchased it. After years of partial deconstruction, the determined architect proceeded to lace the exterior of the property with vegetation, and furnish the interior as a modern living and work space.