During my site visits to both Camberwell & Chelsea’s digital fabrication spaces I conducted semi-structured interviews with the technicians working and took images of the space. I was primarily focused on the locality of the spaces to other workshops and the pros/cons of this. I took inspiration after reading a paper on triangulation where semi-structured interviews provided a ‘rich and more nuanced descriptions of the complexities of delivering human services programs in rural contexts.’ (Dallas J. Elgin, 2021)
During these interviews I recorded the conversation and extracted some quotes highlighted below that align with my findings:
For example the digital fabrication workshop at Chelsea being so close to the wood workshop helps with students ‘connective thinking.’ We discussed how a project developed in digital fabrication is never usually the final product. For example, a 3D print can be sanded down, painted and finished in the wood workshop, it can also be vacuum formed and turned into multiples via plaster. The interconnectivity of the spaces allows for this thinking to be more fluid.
There’s also a more practical element where you ‘can always chat to other technicians immediately.’ This quotes highlights the importance of interconnectivity not only for students, but for staff. During our conversation we discussed how you can easily cut a larger piece of wood down to size in the wood workshop to place in the laser cutter, for example. This ease of flow allows for a much smoother and more beneficial working environment.
In terms of the space forever evolving one technician mentioned that ‘it’s never really finished.’ This quotes highlights to me the ever-evolving aspect of these spaces. As students needs grow and change or as equipment evolves the spaces have to adapt, so this is something I need to keep in mind when designing our space.
We also discussed an issues with the space being in close proximity to the wood workshop in particular is that noise and dust can travel into this area, and as digital fabrication has digital machinery this can cause problems. ‘Noise of the 3D workshop travels across to the digital fabrication space.’
This also highlights an issue of student accessibility. Students who are sensitive to noise, for example, would have a hard time in the digital fabrication space when heavy machinery is being operated. This evolved into how technical spaces could manage this. We discussed the idea of having ‘quiet hours’ at set periods of the day, however this would limit what tools can be used during these times. We also discussed the importance of appropriate sound-proofing. This goes back to the frustrations of the spaces being appropriate at an architectural level, as there is only so much we, as technicians, can do on the ground. One ideas discussed is having headphones readily available to students who are sensitive to noise.
During our discussion we also talked about technical areas being a ‘working space.’ There was emphasis that these areas weren’t a ‘service bureau.’ A discussion ensued around a table in the centre of the Chelsea workshop where students assemble, modify and finish their designs and this is something I have taken forward in our space at Lime Grove where similar activities have taken place.
I found these interviews extremely helpful in my research. Being present in the space helped me gather a better understanding of a functioning, working space. A limitation I found was that it was difficult to extract appropriate data from the recordings and the discussions were rather informal and I could have steered the conversation about ethical considerations of the space. I also only visited two UAL digital fabrication sites and It might have been beneficial to gather data from a wider variety of sites to compare and contrast. Some potental follow up actions conducting surveys or additional structured interview.
References
Annie Irvine, et al (2012) Am I not answering your questions properly?’ Clarification, adequacy and responsiveness in semi-structured telephone and face-to-face interviews, Qualitative Research
Dallas J. Elgin, at al (2021) Human Services Programs in Rural Contexts Mixed Methods Analysis, Integration, and Triangulation Plan, OPRE Report 2021-214