A new space for creativity and collaboration
A collaboration between the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering has created a unique space for innovations in materials, fabrication and design thinking. The Digital Design Studio (DDS) is a teaching and learning place for the next generation of engineers and designers to develop the interdisciplinary skills necessary to meet the challenges of the future.
Located in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Building, the DDS brings together classroom instruction, laboratory work and fabrication-based exploration into a shared environment where students across Applied Science programs can collaborate. The space is a testing ground for the opportunities that can arise from the convergence of APSC disciplines and their design approaches. This concept of learning from each other is guided by Applied One, our Faculty’s vision for an integrated, interdisciplinary future where mutual learning is the foundation of everything we do.
“Students learning different approaches to design and design thinking from each other is essential to taking on the grand challenges of our time” said Applied Science Dean James Olson. “The Digital Design Studio is a model for how our disciplines can work together to build new ways of teaching, while supporting access to hands-on, experiential learning for our students.”
Making across disciplines
The DDS, designed by SHAPE Architecture, supports students at every skill level, from beginners who may be using tools for the first time to advanced fabricators with complex projects. Assembly space with 3D printers and project storage is accessible at all hours for work on small-scale models with hand tools. Further inside, the comprehensive wood shop is outfitted with both traditional and digital devices, including CNC routers, advanced 3D printers and a robot arm . A swipe card system ensures students can only access devices they’ve received training to use.
The second-floor features flexible spaces that can adapt to a variety of needs. A lounge space provides opportunities for students from different disciplines to interact and exchange ideas and methods. The studio can quickly transition between traditional classes, presentations and design critiques. A space for rapid prototyping is located right next door - proximity that encourages students to create and iterate as they learn and discuss in their classes.
The expanded fabrication capability is already having an impact across the faculty. Undergraduate classes in the Bachelor of Design program are based in the second floor studio this semester, and workshop staff have collaborated with engineering design teams to develop their competition entries. “The DDS was conceived as a place where all the different languages we use - design and engineering, analog and digital, aesthetic and functional, large and small - can be used in one space so users can see they are all connected and see them as craft,” said SALA Workshop and Digital Fabrication Technician Graham Entwistle.
Learning from each other
The shared need for more fabrication space was the catalyst that brought CHBE and SALA together. Rather than expand each department’s existing facilities, working together on an interdisciplinary space presented an exciting and unique opportunity.
“Though our discipline is now several centuries old and has made profound contributions to society, chemical engineering has not deeply considered how principles and approaches used in other design-focused disciplines might elevate its work and expand the functions and value of its work in ways that further enrich communities and society,” said Dr. Charles Haynes, CHBE department head.
Ron Kellett, SALA professor and Academic Programs Director for Applied One, echoed the sentiment. “We need to unite experts from our specialties, so we can work together to address problems we would be unable to solve on our own.”
An event to celebrate the opening of the DDS was held on March 23 and 24. A keynote talk by Wayne Li, Oliver Professor of Design and Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, shared the importance of developing a space where each discipline can bring their strengths. The subsequent panel discussion, featuring a mix of practitioners, academics and alumni, explored how to apply these ideas to the new space. Of note, each speaker emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in the professional world.
The next day, these ideas were put to the test through a workshop designed to get faculty and students from various Applied Science disciplines working collaboratively to solve problems through a human-centered lens. Led by Bill Scott, a design thinking instructor at Stanford University, participants tackled a variety of quick design challenges while building meaningful connections with colleagues.
“We have an opportunity to reimagine how we go about chemical engineering,” said Haynes “As we learn from each other, we can bring together the toolkit that enables holistic design.”
