Assembly

Project Leads: Chelsea Franklin, Krystal Paniagua and Shaun Harris

Number of participants:  20

Duration: 5 days

Project Outline:

ASSEMBLY AcrossRCA is a week-long project where participants have the opportunity to design and test a method for collaborative design research. The goal of the workshop is to challenge and introduce new ways of making and designing together, across disciplines. The initial methodology, which will provide a framework for the workshop, was developed by a collective of three MA Fashion students. Their challenge was to create an alternative to the existing hierarchical structures within the fashion industry, where all of those involved in the design and development process are not credited and hidden behind “star” designers.

Throughout the week, you will be introduced to their methods, and asked to develop your own that relates to your design and development process. Working in groups of five, you will have the opportunity to test and execute these methods as a viable tool for design research. The methods will then be catalogued into manual, which will function as the final output from the week-long workshop. All participants are provided with basic tools and materials for experimentation and development but asked to provide their own for testing their designed method. Materials for printing and binding copies of the final manual for all participants will be provided.

Timetable:Day 1:
AM: Welcome & Project Introduction
Demonstration: Within their groups, participants will execute a trial ASSEMBLY, to further introduce them to the methodology.
PM: Briefing: A brief is then given for students to individually develop their own method. They will be assigned a time frame of 3 hours to test it within their group throughout the week. They will be asked to include instructions in their development, as well as gather reflections after each execution. These will be curated into a manual that will be presented as a final publication from the week’s workshop

Day 2:
AM: Working Session: This time is allotted for all students to continue to develop their individual methods.
PM: Testing Methods Round #1: 1st time slot of 3 hours, 1 member from each group of 5 will test their method within their designated group.

Day 3:
AM: Testing Methods Round #2: 2nd time slot of 3 hours, 1 member from each group of 5 will again test their method within their designated group.
PM: Testing Methods Round #3: 3rd time slot of 3 hours, 1 member from each group of 5 will again test their method within their designated group.

Day 4:
AM: Testing Methods Round #4: 4th time slot of 3 hours, 1 member from each group of 5 will again test their method within their designated group.
PM: Testing Methods Round #5: 5th time slot of 3 hours, 1 member from each group of 5 will again test their method within their designated group.

Day 5:
AM: Presentation: Each group will present their work and learnings from the week for approximately 20 minutes each. Participants will then work collaboratively to edit their contributions to the final publication
PM: Editing & Printing Final Publication: This time is allotted for final printing and distributing of the manual, which will act as the final outcome from the week’s workshop. Each participant will receive a copy