To gather data I’ve decided to send out an email questionnaireHow has your space evolved over time? to technicians across UAL regarding the set up of a new work-shop. This is to gather data I can cross reference from different sites and see if any similarities stand out. I initially struggled with what questions to ask, worrying they’d be too open-ended. But after discussions from the second workshop I came to the conclusion that getting a wide set of responses could be beneficial, as I’m hear to learn from others experiences and knowledge.
The questions I’ll be emailing out:
- If you were starting a new workshop, what would be your top priorities in terms of planning the space?
I will preface this with a subheading: For context: myself and my colleagues are currently setting up a new digital fabrication workshop at Lime Grove after our move from CCW Foundation in Camberwell.
- Could you briefly talk about what is working successfully in your space & what needs to be improved?
This will directly help us consider things we might have missed when setting up a new space, perhaps things that can be sorted earlier that won’t cause problems down the line. I will preface with the subheading: This could be about the size of the space, equipment, booking issues, students not engaging as intended etc.
- Were you ever consulted about the design of your space? Were things followed through?
This is a current issue we’re dealing with, essentially working with our back against the wall. A lot of issues could have been easily fixed if we, as technicians, were consulted and I’m interested to see if this is a common theme across UAL.
- How has your space evolved over time?
This is something that inevitably happens in any workshop environment and I’m interested to see how workshops across UAL have evolved over time, whether positively or negatively. I will preface this with the subheading: for example, this could be at a small scale eg. new equipment or large scale eg. moving/expanding the space itself.
- Is there anything you do to ensure your workshop is accessible to all students?
I’m very interested in this from a social justice stand point. I think workshops historically have been intimidated places where students perhaps would have been too intimidated to enter. And this might still be the case now for some students, but how do we rectify this? Making a comfortable and welcoming workshop environment is something I’m very passionate about, and also making it a space open for everyone. This also includes access needs and hidden disabilities, what can we as technicians do to make this space a place anyone can feel welcome and creative in?
Bibliography
Converse, J., & Presser, S. (2011) ‘The Tools at Hand In: Survey Questions,’ SAGE Publications, Inc., Thousand Oaks