THE DESIGN & RESEARCH WORKSHOP

Project Leader: François Azambourg
Assistant Designer: Elena Tosi Brandi
Workshop Coordinator: Veronica Rodriguez

POSITIONING

The Design and Research workshop is structured to provide the opportunity to apply the concepts explored in the project workshop through practical design and research led by academic researchers. These projects combine research with creation under the joint leadership of François Azambourg and guest researchers. In this context, the workshop begins with introducing students to a research methodology through the acquisition of the scientific knowledge required to develop their own research protocols and methods, and to produce projects that range from experimental mechanisms that question or represent knowledge, to functional objects that embody scientific principles. These workshop sessions are distinctive for including designer/researchers - Marine Royer, Elena Tosi Brandi and Anne-Lyse Renon - who provide leadership and observational skills for scientific publications and ANR (the French National Research Institute). These collaborations between academic thought and design practice feed into projects of very different formats, which include experimental video, theatrical performance, teaching systems and functional object.

TEACHING

The teaching method follows a process typical of a research environment. Different stages of the project are carried out in parallel with the materials workshops, supplemented by visits to production facilities arranged in collaboration with industrial partners, and meetings with a large number of experts. In the first phase of the Design & Research workshop, analyses based on documents, observations and field interviews are used to create scenarios that express the personal positioning adopted by each student. In phase two, students experiment in three dimensions to verify their hypotheses.

Particular attention is paid to finishes, representation and compatibility with the production methods inherent to the project. A video, samples and prototypes illustrate both the process and the final proposal.

TOPICS COVERED

Design and Research - Nature and Discovery; New solutions for scientific mediation; Dastri & Saint-Eustache; Visualising the invisible; Shade; Cinematics; Design for Change; Light Science Design; Food. Feeding the Planet; Quantum Design; Cooking for the visually Impaired; Workshops within workshops; Porosity and blurred outlines; Supraconductivity; Zero Budget