This is where things get interesting. This is a studio built on the very essence of hands on learning, where students work with a practicing Architect to better articulate thoughtful design and then experience learning how to craft those carefully articulated ideas into something real and tangible. But here at the Design+Make studio, we seem to be experiencing a major disconnect. The disconnect is that we as students are being pushed to complete a building without having the proper daily hands-on collaboration of knowledge. Starting from day one during the design development to now during the construction details, there is too much of a gap in between when learning is happening. As students, we only know so much and can only learn through each other so much, every week we always seem to run into the issue of needing direct help from the professionals in order to move forward with the project.  I joined this studio knowing that I knew close to nothing about how to truly build a design idea. Nevertheless, enthusiastic knowing this year was going to be filled with thousands of new experiences in design and construction that I wanted to have a greater understanding of and the ability to make actually it. But why is the breadth and depth of knowledge that I am supposed to be gaining only happening in small increments? My classmates and I are actively engaged in a design and construction that is beyond our knowledge base. We don’t know what we’re doing.

 

How is one supposed to learn what they do not know, when they don’t know what they are supposed to know? Maybe a confusing question but is accurately described by the saying, “you don’t know, what you don’t know.” Google doesn’t help find answers in this case, especially when we’re not even sure what the questions are. Whether through person-to-person teaching or one-on-one conversations, the vital key is the situational real time experience of being there and being engaged to learn through seeing, hearing and doing. Googling or rote book learning can only go so far in creating understanding, like American author John Naisbitt said, “We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge.”

 

Currently, we have Owner/Architect/Contractor meetings that occur in Kansas City at the El Dorado Inc office at 8:30am every Friday. These meetings are an important aspect of the design and construction process for us, as they are a key means of updating all parties involved. It is here that so many questions and conversations occur that are so crucial to the design and construction of a building. These meetings can be extensive and long but are critical to the well-being of the project, often when design issues arise compromises have to be determined on the spot. In practice on a typical project, these meetings happen either bi-weekly or monthly. However, for us these weekly meetings happen to some of the only times we are truly mentored through hands on, one on one conversations. The professionals who have the experience we need are consistently telling us to research issues or questions we have. With the students being based in Manhattan and the jobsite being in Kansas City, our team is 150 miles apart trying to learn and understand how to properly put together a whole house via email and one, maybe two weekly meetings.

 

At the end of the day, we can all be more proactive in seeking out the one-on -one interactions that we all so desperately crave. I find myself seeking the subcontractors and craftspeople on the jobsite who are so openly enthusiastic to help us learn, where I am on site using a nail gun, hanging the wood and putting the house together with my bare hands. I have learned more about how to put together a construction drawing set by being on site than I would have had looking at past project drawing sets, books and researching. On site, I am growing in knowledge though experiencing by watching and then doing, the way I learn best. I am me, but I know my classmates will reiterate that in-person hands-on, one-on-one involvement is our priority. We want to learn and understand every detail. We want to experience new knowledge to be a better professional in a field that sometimes looks down upon the blue collared men and women who often make our ideas come to life. We can only learn so much from a computer or even a book. We can put an idea down on paper but they cannot be realized unless we have a thorough understanding of how that idea will actually stand up. Please help us get out of our chairs, to show us your knowledge as a practicing professional.

 

“Sharing knowledge can seem like a burden to some, but on the contrary, it is a reflection of teamwork and leadership.” – Unknown.