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Issue #1 from Nomad RDC www.nomad-rdc.com

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Page 1: Nomad News

Nomad News#001

Hello

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Nomad News#001

RecentProjects

Featuring,● University Of Liverpool: Liverpool Guild Of Students● King’s College London: Creative Consultation Project

● City Of Glasgow College: Library And Learning Space● University Of Glasgow: World Changers Hoarding● Glasgow Caledonian University: Heart Of Campus Project

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Un

iversity of Liverpool The Guild of Students at Uni-

versity of Liverpool is an ex-traordinary space comprising three linking buildings, each from a different architectural era. The Guild has an impres-sive history and reputation but over the years the interior and some aspects of the exterior had become difficult to navi-gate and fallen into disrepair. The University wanted to refurbish the Guild for a new generation of students and following a competition ap-pointed our environments and research teams.

The project had an ambi-tious timescale, yet the Uni-versity was keen to involve

our research team to listen to the student voice so we had to come up with a reliable ‘quick and dirty’ method for gathering data. Our solution was to design and launch a controlled number of cultural probes, which were returned to us containing a wealth of information about the type of scheme that students wanted.

In addition to the timescale (Summer 2013 –Spring 2014), the university also challenged our environments team to ex-press the Guild’s environmen-tal policies through the design and the selection of materials. As a result, the street-scape – the main thoroughfare

through the building – features linoleum, gabion cages and timber cladding. While the courtyard – a multi-functional space including a refectory, performance space, bar and club – features a stone clad bar, stackable rubber stepped seats/benches and parts of the original dance floor which we managed to rescue. Finally the Sphinx bar, a smaller more intimate bar space features a huge installation of reclaimed timber.

One of the biggest challenges was to simplify the space and make it more legible. This was largely taken care of via the planning and rationaliza-

tion exercise. However a full way finding package was still required. Our team provided both high and low-tech solu-tions, from dynamic displays to writable surfaces. Graphic artwork was also required for the space and both this and the sign package were influenced by the Guilds new logo. How-ever the University allowed us some scope to play with ideas about industry, landscape and even beat culture within the graphics including a large ceiling installation in the street which features the lyrics from “Our Alma Mater on the Hill” which has been in the Univer-sity songbook since 1906.

Liverpool Guild Of Students

● £14.25m revamp to bring the historic building into the 21st Century● Nominated for the FX Awards 2014

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A cultural probe is a method used to gather insights about people’s everyday lives. The cultural probes consist of a small pack, which comprise tools such as maps, postcards, cameras or diaries along with instructions for tasks that par-ticipants should perform, and they should be customized to suit each different project.

Over the years we have designed a number of different cultural probes and enjoyed mixed levels of success with these. The quality of informa-tion is always excellent but there are often low returns. On this occasion we had access to the guild officers and staff and were therefore confident that we would get a great response.

Cultural Probes should be fun so in this instance we

wanted to theme the pack around education. The pack issued to participants was a standard A4 concertina file with different sections for different tasks.

Tasks included maps and stickers which were intended to help students to note the type of atmospheric, emo-tional and practical geography they currently have and would like in future from their space. They also included narrative aids and character cards to help them to introduce their students to us.

We received 100% of the probes at the close of this stage and they provided solid information that was able to be included in the brief for ourselves and the wider design team.

ProjectResearch

Nomad News #001 • Recent Projects5

StatiSticS● 02 Active research weeks● 01 Set of cultural probes – including the following activi-ties:

1 week diaryMapping exerciseProfiling cardsHeadlines exerciseImage capture

Key inSightS● Working with a small group of six–eight students through-out the project keeps the proj-ect moving at a good pace while maintaining the student voice throughout. ● Flexibility should not be limited to learning spaces. Flexible service spaces will assist the Guild and their societies to deliver events and information in a range of engaging ways. ● Students are proud of the Guild’s historic and political background and want to see this represented physically in their scheme.

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Kin

g’s College L

ond

on In 2011 King’s College London commissioned our Research and Communications teams to undertake a unique project at their historic Strand Cam-pus in London.

The College wanted to re-furbish the Quadrangle build-ing which lies between the King’s Building and the world famous Somerset House. The College have high expecta-tions for the project and want it to be an innovative space that provides a new ‘Heart’ for the campus. To achieve a new innovative space they felt they needed an innovative process and subsequently commissioned our team to undertake a unique, user centred research/consultation project that would culminate in a brief to be issued as part of an architectural competi-tion. Once completed we

worked with RIBA to compile and issue this brief across Eu-rope. We were then retained as design and innovation consultants to help judge the competition and advise on the project direction.

The RIBA competition for the redesign of the Quadrangle at King’s College London was launched on 25th April 2012 and closed on 1st June at 2pm. The College received expres-sions of interest from over 100 architectural practices across Europe. The shortlisted architects were Barozzi Veiga, Carme Pinos, Eric Parry, Hen-ley Halebrown Rorrison, Zaha Hadid and Hall McKnight, who were the eventual winners.

● More Informationhttp://www.kcl.ac.uk/campus-life/campuses/strand/quad.aspx

Creative Consultation Project

● £20m redevelopment of famous Strand campus● Staff and student consultation informs international architectural brief

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StatiSticS● 06 Active research months● 3956 Visitors to blog ● 236 Followers on Twitter● 768 Tweets● 07 Days on site● 04 Observations● 220 Soft interviews● 18 Formal interviews● 07 Polls ● 22 Questions● 428 Votes● 12 Workshop participants● 05 Creative workshops● 04 Site visits● 01 Pecha Kucha● 01 Literature review

Given the scale and ambition of the project we felt that It was critical that we include all stakeholders. To do this we designed a bespoke re-search plan and at its core we placed a blog with associated social media. This would act as a portal to the project and create an easily accessible lo-cation where all information could be gathered. The blog hosted news stories, a diary of dates for upcoming con-sultation events and encour-aged interaction via themed weekly polls.

In addition to the online portion of the project we con-

structed a plan that included soft interviews with students across three campuses, formal interviews with staff and aca-demics and a ‘design group’. This design group was formed from volunteers drawn from the academic and service staff as well as students, and they took part in a number of pro-grammed creative workshops and site visits, some of which were suggested by students via the blog. Finally, to en-sure we had explored all areas we included a review of cur-rent literature on the topic of learning environments.

Key inSightS● Students spend longer peri-ods of time on campus when there is a strong sense of com-munity and identity.● Sense of community and identity on campus is stronger in places where there is a cen-tral orientation space and where information/communication streams are clearly visible. ● Students would prefer a large number of small, more utilitarian workspaces to a limited number of comfort-able, more spacious places.● Social media is popular on campus and can be used to communicate with the stu-dent body. It is not, yet, as successful in the academic field as was first anticipated.

ProjectResearch

Nomad News #001 • Recent Projects7

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Library and Learning Space

City O

f Glasgow

College

In the Spring of 2013 we were appointed to refurbish the old refectory at City of Glasgow College and created a whole new floor for the library service.

The college was in desper-ate need of new library space, including an increase in the variety of study spaces avail-able. However, this was a temporary fix as the College is part of the larger Campus Glasgow project, which will include a new library. This meant that we had two major restrictions, 1. timescale – the college needed the space open for the beginning of the Autumn term, 2. budget – the overall budget was tight and there were an number of ‘invisible’ improvements necessary that reduced the budget available for the inte-rior further.

In addition to the above issues the space itself was problematic. The refectory space was difficult, as it com-prised one large open area with no windows and poor lighting. The main challenge that the college tasked us with was to create a selection of zoned spaces, that would not present any visual barriers to the staff, while also improving the light quality. Previously we had experimented with structures that lower ceiling

height in discreet areas and we had discovered that this could help to make a space feel more intimate. We also suspected that this would be an ideal means to bring addi-tional light into the space and possibly tackle some acoustic issues. The canopies them-selves were constructed from simple ply frame. LED lights lined the inner perimeter and a stretched fabric, printed with a bespoke ‘personal sky’ graphic acted as a diffuser.

Since opening our client has reported that the cano-pies are even more effective than we first suspected as the gentle glow of the light-ing combined with the slight acoustic change experienced while sitting under them produces a restful, calm atmosphere that is helping students to focus.

The artwork throughout the space is the result of col-laboration between our com-munication team and artist Tony McKay who also happens to be a part-time member of library staff at the college. It is intended to capture the spirit of Glasgow and uses iconic architectural motifs along with well-known landmarks such as the Finneston Crane. These are combined with icons rep-resenting the wealth of courses available at the college.

● Daily visits reported to continually increase upon opening● Nominated for FX Awards and Scottish Design Awards

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Nomad News #001 • Recent Projects9

Due to the timescale we were unable to carry out an ex-tensive research program. However, as this project was a competition it provided an ideal opportunity for us to test and refine some spatial re-search tools that we had been developing. These research tools included people/place profiling cards and a spatial assessment table. They were designed using the cumulative data from all field projects to date and are used by our staff when visiting a new project for the first time. The assess-ment table helps our design-ers to take a quick snapshot of a place and its culture while the profiling cards are used over a longer period and help our designers to record more in-depth observations.

ProjectResearch

StatiSticS● 01 Active research weeks ● 03 Days on site ● 10 Student profiles● 02 Assessment tables

Key inSightS● All learner types, even highly social groups require some form of quiet contem-plative space.● Lowering the ceiling can delineate a space and offer acoustic value.● Making cultural and his-torical connections visual can increase the sense of identity and community.

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Un

iversity of Glasgow

In the year of the Common-wealth Games, the University asked us to create a graphic installation on the hoarding surrounding the site of their sports and recreation build-ing and student union which are undergoing a major refurbishment. There were two key aspects to the brief, 1. the work must reflect the Uni-versity’s new people-focused marketing campaign which features the brand message, ‘where people inspire people to change the world’ and 2. the work had to be executed, signed off, manufactured and installed in time for the Com-monwealth Road Race.

Initially the University had envisioned that we might do something similar to the Wall of Intrigue artwork that we have installed around the campus. However, we were inspired by their ‘world chang-ers’ campaign and wanted to take a more user centred ap-proach. Having interviewed literally thousands of students and academics over the last few years we know that there is nothing more interesting than hearing their thoughts, ideas and opinions, so we came up with a very simple idea – why not ask the people of UoG how they plan to change the world and record

their answers along with a photograph of them.

In addition to current UoG staff and students, we also researched famous/iconic alumni of the past, such as Adam Smith, and the responses they may have made to this question. All photographs were then as-sembled as a collage and used as the graphic treatment. The photographs were also up-loaded to Instagram with the University tweeting a weekly ‘Wednesday Worldchanger’ from the collection. Students were also encouraged to add their own and build upon this. A QR code was added

which links to the ‘#UofG-worldchangers’ thread on Instagram, allowing for the campaign to expand and visi-tors to both participate and find out more about some of the more historic or notable alumni featured.

Even as the project was being installed, crowds were gathering to read the photographs and it remains a very popular installation on campus for both students and academics who love the work.

● More Informationhttp://www.worldchanging.glasgow.ac.uk

World Changers Hoarding● University’s build site requires communication solution for hoarding structure

● Project expands into successful long-term campaign

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StatiSticS● 05 Days on site● 94 Participants ● 17 Academics● 56 Current students● 07 Sports representatives● 14 Famous/Historic alumni

Key inSightS● Be persistent – students are keen to contribute to the uni-versity when given the time and supporting materials to communicate.● Social media can be used to create a dialogue between an institution and the gen-eral public through physical manifestations – in this case through the building site hoarding and instagram, twit-ter and university website via a hashtag and QR code. ● The breadth of qualities, knowledge and identity of an institution can be success-fully represented by the very people who make it up.

Once again we were in a race against time on this project. The Commonwealth Games road race was mere weeks away and the majority of stu-dents were already leaving for their summer break so we dispatched a researcher to site immediately armed with a camera and a stash of permission forms we had devised.

We interviewed a total of 73 students and academics while on site. Most students we encountered on Universi-ty Avenue while others were found celebrating their grad-uation in the famous cloisters of the Gilbert Scott Building.

The University also helped out by identifying historic and famous alumni as well as sports representatives who were about to compete in the Games.

Most participants found answering the question easy. However when it came to the historic alumni we had to speculate a little about what they might have said.

ProjectResearch

Nomad News #001 • Recent Projects11

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Glasgow

Caled

onian

Un

iversity

In 2010 we partnered Page/Park Architects to undertake a Masterplanning project for Glasgow Caledonian University. This led to a number of core recommendations. The most far reaching of these was the Heart of Campus concept. Put simply this concept seeks to both physically and intel-lectually connect a number of buildings on the campus through an intensive refurbish-ment program. The Saltire had become hugely popular and overcrowded over the years and one of the key foci is to steer the weight of traffic away from the Saltire and allow it to return to a

quieter more academic space. Our role in the project is

twofold. Initially our research team designed and initiated a six-month research and creative consultation project, which aimed to uncover underlying issues and access the creative vi-sion of staff and students alike. The information gathered in this phase was continuously fed back to the wider design team and informed many of the proj-ect’s major design decision.

In our secondary role, our enivornments team were comissioned to create the inte-riorss for all spaces. The current design for the new spaces is

themed around the concepts of connectivity and flexibility with a playful edge. These spaces include an entrance ‘Pavilion’ which encloses an exciting new welcome experience. This com-bines the notion of a reception space with a coffee shop, sculp-ture gallery and exhibition area. Also included is an innovative restaurant/learning space for up to 500 that offers students tradi-tional fare alongside street food sold from specially designed carts. Above this restaurant, a Student Services Mall will offer students access to all services and support. Here the theme of flexibility continues in a lounge

space which incorporates bespoke pop-up stalls which can be used by students, staff or even incoming visitors to stage events. Finally an exciting landscape scheme is planned that will bring much needed parkland to the centre of the city and transform a once grey campus into something a little more green.

In a separate but linked commission we are revisiting the Saltire Centre. In this part of the project we will be work-ing with staff to explore ways to build upon the success of the original design while solving other long-standing issues.

Heart Of Campus Project● Ambitious campus-wide £30m redevelopment

● Long-running project reaches first construction stage

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StatiSticS● 1655 Visits to the blog● 191 Twitter followers● 97 Poll takers● 110 Soft interviews● 19 Formal interviews● 07 Workshops

Key inSightS● The Saltire continues to be the most popular study loca-tion on campus. ● Entrances are important – students want clear direction and a sense of formality.● Prior to the Heart of Cam-pus project, many students were not aware of the range of services and support avail-able to them. ● The sense of community on campus is valued and the design should seek to reinforce this.● Food is a key factor in keeping students on campus. Choice is important – students want offerings which reflect the high street.

The research and consultation project for Heart of Campus was one of our most ambi-tious to date. To ensure that we reached the widest num-ber of participants possible we began by constructing a blog. This would act as a portal to the project and create an eas-ily accessible location where all information could be gath-ered. The blog hosted news stories and a diary of dates for

upcoming consultation events and encouraged interaction via themed weekly polls. In addition to the blog we cre-ated a number of events and activities including observa-tion, field interviews and com-petitions. Due to the scale of the project the most important activities were a series of com-plex interlinked collaborative workshops with students and staff.

Nomad News #001 • Recent Projects

ProjectResearch

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The Camera Roll14

A snapshot of our Twitter and Instagram feeds from the last year.

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TA TA FOR NOW