DESIGN PROCESS -The end

For the last of class of Design Process, we presented our final solution to the class. 

Our problem: Limited social spaces in residential areas

Our solution: The social web

What it is: The social web is a a social space designed in between residential buildings. It doesn't require land to be constructed. This is an important factor as Singapore is a very small country and is limited in land. Another feature is that it is only 1 story high, so it can be incorporated at multiple levels of a building. Say a building is 15 stories high, these can be incorporated every 5 floors for example. This makes it a lot more convenient for the residents to access. 

DESIGN PROCESS - Finishing up

There are just a few weeks left of the academic year, which means our project has almost come to an end. Wrapping things up, our group task as of now was to come up with a strong title for our proposal and start working on our group sketch book. 

To finalise a title, we jotted down our ideas in a mind map. We felt that our title had to represent the lack of social spaces and the illnesses and problems that its absence causes. Finally, we came up with "A Little Dosage of Social Interaction". This idea branched off of the saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away".

(Sketches of solutions which will be incorporated into the proposal, presentation board and power point.)

DESIGN PROCESS - Visual Presentation and Sketch

During the following Design Process class we had, our task was to present our progress, ideas and solutions to our lecturers. We also had to sketch up a few of our solutions. What we did was create a powerpoint of the main information and research we had collected. We presented our case study, interviews, survey and solutions. 

Looking at the problem - Lack of social spaces in residential areas, one of the main solutions we came up with was to start incorporating social spaces on rooftops and underground. This, we feel, wouldn't affect the already limited space that Singapore has. It would be a smart usage of space. Here is one sketch showcasing an idea of underground social spaces. 

DESIGN PROCESS - Survey and Case Study

After creating more mind maps and looking into the different research methodologies, my group and I took the next step in our project. We started the process of our surveys and case studies. 

CASE STUDY:

For the case study, we looked into a problem faced in Singapore and posed our own solution for it. The problem we looked into was the introduction of barriers and spikes in the social areas of the HDBs. We looked into what the public thought about it, pondered over the problem itself, and came up with a simple solution. We then included this as a case study into our developing report. 

SURVEY:

Another step we took was creating a survey. We used a site called "survey monkey", which allowed us to create our very own survey. This survey is an online one, open to anyone. It basically contains questions regarding the social spaces and areas in the residential areas of Singapore. This survey helped us understand the public's opinion on the topic at hand and gave us a better understanding of it. We printed out the physical copy of it, along with the visual graphs it provided, and inserted them into our report as well. 

DESIGN PROCESS - Research Methodologies

Our next task was to mind map the basic types of research. We had to include both HOW and WHY accordingly. 
As we know, there are two basic types of research - Primary and Secondary. Now, together as a group, we came up with three ways/methods by which we could collect research (primary). 

These three are:
1) Questionnaires
2) Interviews
3) Polls

In the mind map, we have included both how and why we have chosen each category (ie. the advantages, and how it will be executed).

DESIGN PROCESS - Report Development

Once the basic structure of the report was decided and drafted, a layout of the cover page was provided, and accordingly, the rough report was printed out.

 

(Our First Draft of the Report)

DESIGN PROCESS - Report Development

With this topic "Limited Social Spaces in Residential Areas", our group is required to write a report of approximately 1500 words. Each week, we take on the report one step at a time. Our first task was simple - each member of the group was to find 2 newspaper articles, 2 websites and 2 books for our  future research. This is to be included in the report's bibliography. 

Moving on to the next task, a rough skeleton of our report was to be constructed. This involves the following:

1) Cover Page

2) Preface

3) Acknowledgement 

4)List of Figures

5)Content

6)Chapter 1

7)Bibliography

Additional chapters are required, but as of that week's task, only one chapter was required.