Student Activities

The following questions are based on the Stage 5 Design and Technology syllabus.

Design process
1. What are the key skills that Alison Page needs when beginning to work with indigenous communities?














The two images above are a map and photo of Wilcannia. Wilcannia is a small town located within the
Central Darling Shire in north western New South Wales, Australia. It is a rural area home to an indigenous
community.











Alison Page has recently worked on the Wilcannia hospital project. Alison and her team redeveloped this
hospital as the structure was problematic for the indigenous community as it faces its back to the river, a
vital source of life. It was up to Alison and her team to consult the community and make the hospital feel
as connected to the earth as possible.


When working with an indigenous community it is important that Alison is open to many different ideas
which represent their history. She needs to learn the traditions of the indigenous communities to get a
scope of how to go about the design and what to incorporate in the design so that it reflects their culture.
Alison quotes: You need to be very humble and very open and willing to follow any protocols that they
may or may not have. From this quote it can be seen that Alison must be very respectful to the
requirements and ideas that the community have to offer.

















To achieve the requirements of the community Alison has used various materials that give the hospital the
desired connectedness to the earth whilst being practical for the users. As can be seen, the earth brick and
corrugated iron used for the external features of the hospital, linking the structures old colonial heritage to
the connection the community have with the land whilst incorporating needs for the contemporary
community.










The interior of the hospital has to captivate the cultures history and art. Alison has to ensure to
incorporate features in the hospital that reflect different aspects of the indigenous community. Alison has
achieved this by featuring local art as a main piece in the hospital.


2. Identify the steps of the design process for the Wilcannia Project. What kind of research did Alison need to
undertake to complete the Wilcannia Hospital project?

Project analysis- Alison must consult with the indigenous community to obtain ideas and concerns that
they may have. She needs to address certain problems like the way that the building faces. She has to get a
feel for the environment to understand what she is working with.

Research- She researches appropriate tools and equipment to connect the building with the land. She also
researches more on indigenous culture, history and art. The aspects that she searches should complement
the design within the building.

Ideas- She consults her ideas with the community as they have most input on the design. She develops
models to portray her ideas of the new building to the community

Production- To put these plans into practice, her and her team begins to construct the Wilcannia hospital
which making functional to its users along with having significant cultural heritage.





3. Compare the design process used to design the Wilcannia Hospital Project with that used by Ray Parslow
and his team. Draw a flowchart for each. What are the similarities and differences between the two
processes?

Alison




Ray





Project analysis- Alison must consult
with the indigenous community to
obtain ideas and concerns that they may
have. She needs to address certain
problems like the way that the building
faces. She has to get a feel for the
environment to understand what she is
working with.
Research- She researches appropriate
tools and equipment to connect the
building with the land. She also
researches more on indigenous culture,
history and art. The aspects that she
searches should complement the design
within the building.
Production- To put these plans into
practice, her and her team begins to
construct the Wilcannia hospital which
making functional to its users along with
having significant cultural heritage.
Ideas- She consults her ideas with the
community as they have most input on
the design. She develops models to
portray her ideas of the new building to
the community
Ray uses a design brief to
help clients connect with
their interest such as: travel
cultural backgrounds and
experiences
Ray has to do alot of research
espcially when it comes to
corporate buisness to give it
more depth and meaning
Ray needs to acknowledge
copyright material especially
when it comes to images . He
must make signed
agreements when
photographing something
Once all is consulted he and
his team begin to produce
the design.
Similarities

Both Alison and Ray have a similar path in their design process. They both are keen and put most input on
their clients so that the design is as correct as possible. They have beliefs that culture has a strong sense in
creating a design as it creates a different depth and meaning.


4. Why should built environment designers consider the needs of the people who will use the environments
they create? For a built environment that you have designed whose needs did you need to consider?

A built environment designer must consider the needs of the people who will use the environment as they
changed design will affect the way they use the environment. When planning to change any environment
their needs must be considered to ensure that the room is designed for the clients need.

For my task I must consider the needs of the whole family which include my parents and me. We each use
the 4 areas on a regular basis however some of us use it more than others. For example, my mum uses the
kitchen the most so my design has to suite her specific needs, however as 3 of the 4 areas are
interconnected I also have to think about the needs of my dad. Major areas include reconstructing walls
and refitting electrical points.


Role of designers
1. Consultation, collaboration and teamwork are important to Alison Page's design practice. Identify three
specific examples of where this has occurred.

Consultation- in the Wilcannia project Alison has set up a community consultation which allows Alison and
her team to work with a specific group in the community for the whole of the project. This allows for the
community to decide on what they would like to reflect their key cultural aspects rather than the designers
forcing ideas on them.

Collaboration- Alison has collaborated a variety of different aspects to make her project successful at all
levels. A lot of aboriginal art has been incorporated into the design to convey the significant history and
culture of the community. Alison has collaborated with them and let them choose what art they would like
to represent their hospital.

Alison as also collaborated with the Government as the hospital must contain mortuaries, how the
indigenous have several cultural superstitions towards death, bodies and grieving. Whilst abiding by the
rules of the Government she must also find a more pleasant medium to comply with beliefs of the
Aboriginals. Alison solved this issue by splitting the two buildings however making it look connected and
placing the mortuary and main area in separate buildings. Constructing the buildings this way allowed air-
flow in between to feel a sense of separation, also family members can visit and mourn at the mortuary as
often as they please.

Teamwork- Teamwork is vital especially working with her committee. Alison must not only work with her
team but with the indigenous community. This is evident throughout the Wilcannia hospital project. Alison
has taken charge of this project whilst allowing the community to forward their ideas towards the project.
This partnership and successful teamwork with the aboriginals has allowed Alison to be successful in her
work. She has used her skills obtained as an interior designer for many years, to execute them into this
project and to show the rest of her design team what needs to be done.


2. What kind of skills does a project manager have and why are these skills important in Alison's line of work?
You may like to use the Myfuture web site http://www.myfuture.edu.au. Enter project manager as a
search term.

A project manager has various skills such as: time management skills, team leadership, good interpersonal
and professional communications skills, ability to manage finances, sound judgement and analytical skills
and able to work under pressure and strict time lines. These particular skills are important in Alisons line
of work as to design a new building is a large task. Certain aspects need to be completed by a certain time
limit therefore project managers must obligate jobs in order of their size or importance. Communication
skills are vital as when working with a team all members must be informed of progress constantly.

3. List the different kinds of professionals and designers that might work on a large building project.
- Builder
- Interior Designer
- Architect
- Interior Decorator
- Electrician
- Plumber
- Project Manager



4. Designers can make an important contribution to quality of life. In what ways could the interior design of
Alison Page help to make a user's life easier or better?

Alison Page has a clear vision that she is only inspired to create interiors that have a connection to the
environment or the people that use it. She carefully plans the use of material and resources she will use to
design a certain room so that it has both functional and aesthetical features. Alisons designs can help
make a users life more practical by implementing her passive environmental principles. This includes
combining clever ventilation that decreases energy consumption and the use of contemporary
environmentally friendly materials such as: glass, stainless steel, plastics and rubber which have minimal
impact to the earth.

Alisons practical structure also makes the users life easier and better. She likes to use lightweight
materials such as aluminium frames and corrugated iron walls with buildings sitting up off the ground to
assist the air to flow freely beneath the building. Her designs help to make the users life easier as she
provides them with ergonomic, function and practical designs for consumers to engage with.

5. Discuss the training, study and work-related experiences of Alison Page. Plan a possible pathway you could
take to become an interior designer. You may like to use the Myfuture web site
http://www.myfuture.edu.au. Enter interior designer or interior architect as a search term.

Alisons training, study and work-related experience

Alisons education in interior design began in 1997 as she obtained a Bachelor of Interior Design (honours)
from the University of Technology in Sydney. During her time here she has gained the vital skills she needs
to design interiors for a number of places such as offices, cafes, and public buildings. Here she met one of
many inspirational people, George Verghese, who was a Canadian industrial design, also one of her
university lecturers. He talked about his experience about the work of Native American architects, which
inspired her to explore ways to express cultural identity and history through design.

From 1998-1999 focused her work in Aboriginal culture and worked for the NSW Government Architect's
Office - Merrima Aboriginal Design Unit, Sydney. She used her qualifications and skills in a meaningful way;
she was inspired to create interiors that connected to the environment or the way that people would use
the room. This inspired her to focus her career on indigenous design, along with meeting Dillon
Kombumerri and Kevin O'Brien, who started Merrima, the only indigenous architectural practice of its kind
in Australia. From then until present she has her own practice for Merrima Design and Designers in
Collaboration. To this day she continues to attend courses in project management which assists to
constantly elaborate her skills in managing people and projects.

Possible pathways to interior design

To become an interior designer there are many certificates and diplomas that can be obtained to start a
career into interior design. An option is to obtain an advanced diploma of interior design, in NSW there are
3 different TAFEs in NSW including: Lidcome, Enmore or Nepean. From here students will skills in
providing solutions for built interior environments. They will learn skills to interior design in different areas
of buildings such as residential, commercial and industrial. This diploma will give students the appropriate
pathway into becoming and interior designer.



Design specialisation
1. Identify some of the ways that Alison Page addresses environmental concerns

Alisons designs heavily reflect on environmentally friendly materials, as she mainly works with indigenous
communities the environmentally friendly designs give a sense of connection to the people with the land
whilst also reducing energy consumption. Alison cleverly plans ways to reduce our carbon footprint. For
instance she may implement a ventilation system which allows the natural air to flow through assisting to
reduce the impact on the environment. In todays society we use a lot of electricity, especially in lighting,
Alison addresses this issue by implementing large glass windows to allow natural lighting.

Along with changing the way we use energy, Alison uses some of her favourite contemporary
environmentally friendly materials when designing. These materials include: glass, stainless steel, plastics
and rubber to reduce the purchase of non-environmentally friendly products and use of unnecessary
energy. Alison also likes to use aluminium frames and corrugated iron walls in her structures which allow
air flow and the building has fewer contact points to the ground to sustain their structure, maintenance
and eco-friendliness.