May and June saw ‘Design Matters’ jump in to the world of

design and architecture with four taster sessions to bring

young people together for July’s summer school.

With words and images from North Fulham NDC’s young

advisors, take a walk with us through the pre-summer

school sessions.

Much thanks go out to Young Advisors, Monique De St Aubin

and Evie Pritchard, Nerissa Clarke, Aaron Parchment Austin

& Sakina Abbaze who documented these sessions for us.

Left- Right: Evie, Sakina, Monique and Aaron

Taster Session No.1: 28th May 2008

Meeting the Professionals behind Normand ParkWords by Monique. Images by Nerrisa.

We all met outside Normand Park at 4.30pm, and we were greeted by

Maria Horn, a landscape architect from Kinnear Landscape Architects

and Andrew Strong from Balfour Beatty – Site Agent, Project Manager

(boss). Andrew is responsible for all works on site, which was

beneficial to the group as he lead the tour and was able to give in-

depth information on the park’s development.

Maria Horn then showed everyone pictures of what Normand Park

looked like and pictures of what the park should look once it is

finished. Andrew Strong then talked about how before they were able

to re – construct the park they had to research the park’s history in

order to develop the new design idea of Normand Park along with the

contribution of (young) people from the Fulham area.

The group toured the park, starting with the main entrance, the

broadwalk, leading up to the body of the park on the way showing and

explaining other accessories in the park, such as the interactive lights

in the trees which shine different colours and on surrounding areas.

Mr Strong also showed the youths a path that runs through the park,

this path is to link the schools at either end of the park to the Virgin

Active Gym. Mr Strong also said there is to be a caretaker that will

work in the park and promote a safe environment for all.

The tour then moved to the main body of the park where Maria talked

about the bird baths located in the lounging decks, and continued to

tell to us about the design aspects of the play area, which holds lots

of new features.

After viewing the play area the group then moved to the other side of

the park, the community gardens, opposite to Normand Craft Primary

School. Andrew told us about of all the new features in this area of

the park such as the bug wall – this is where insects can build nests

for breeding. Also Mr Strong also explained about the seating style in

that area of the park.

The tour then proceeded up a path that took the group round the

bowling green to the front of the park where the tour began. Thanks

were given to Maria & Andrew and the tour came to its end.

Taster Session No.2: 31st May 2008

Meeting the ‘God- Fathers’: Richard Rogers & CoWords by Evie. Images by Aaron

We entered the Design Museum not knowing quite what to expect.

From watering cans with spray nozzles to Vogue cover shoots, we

saw more aspects of design in an hour or two than I had ever

considered before.

The first two exhibitions couldn’t have been more different. One was

entitled ‘Richard Rogers and Architects – from the House to the City’,

and consisted of a huge room full of architectural scale models of

some of the most recognizable and beautiful buildings, along with

early maquettes and sketches to give an insight into their design.

The second was dedicated to Industrial Facility, a brand whose simple

and sophisticatedly designed products filled one half of the exhibition

space, while the other side was used to display their collection of

goods costing less than five pounds. These useful and innovative

items ranged from in-ear alarms for Japanese commuters to

permanently red ketchup bottles.

We finished our visit with a look at the surreal fashion photography of

Tim Walker, and a trip to the café for a discussion of what we had

seen and learned. As well as being fun, the trip gave us a great look

at the variety of design possible. Perhaps in the future one of our

group will have ‘Design Matters’ to thank when their own exhibition

opens in the Design Museum.

Taster Session No.3: 21st June 2008

Future design stars at The Royal College of ArtWords by Monique. Images by Sakina.

Arriving at South Kensington, the group walked though the subway,

which led them to Exhibition Road, the street parades and

bands from different cultures that came to celebrate Music Day,

part of The London Festival of Architecture 2008.

The team followed Kirsty and Christine down backstreets which took

them to The Royal Albert Hall, adjacent to the The Royal College of

Art and the annual ‘Summer Show’ by MA students.

After arriving at the college the group was given some background

information about the college and the works that where held inside.

Once stepping into the show the first section of the show was

Fashion Footwear and Accessory Design. The second section was

about Communication Art, this entailed Illustration and Design,

Culture, Media and Technology. Also featured on the ground floor

were sections such as Architecture and Vehicle Design. The fourth

section included ; Design Interactions, ‘Curating Contemporary Art’

and Industrial Design Engineering. This last collection included

models of cars with features such as sliding doors and doors which

slide upwards into different guises and frames.

By 4.00pm the tour was up and it was time for everyone to head back

to Fulham. Once arriving back home, the team went to ‘Sam’s Café’

where they were treated to a late lunch and were able to discuss and

share views on what they thought of the show and all its content.

Many of us enjoyed the Virtual Reality Suits, the ‘Curating

Contemporary Art’ section - the cake models! However, most favoured

The Industrial Design Engineering – Car Models and Designs.

After swapping views and finishing lunch, thanks were given and the

group were able to depart the café with a head full of new knowledge

and ideas about design.

Taster Session No.4: 27th June 2008

‘China Now’ at the Victoria & Albert MuseumWords by Monique. Images by Aaron.

‘China Design Now’ explores China’s dreams and hope over the lasttwo decades. The exhibition was based on three cities in China.

The first city was SHEZHEN: Frontier City. Shenzhen is thebirth-place of contemporary Chinese graphic design. The second citywas SHANGHAI: Dream City. Shanghai, has been China’s foremostinternational city since its origins in the mid 19th century and isknown as the ‘Paris of Orient’.

The third city was BEIJING: Future City. Out of the three cities in theexhibition, Beijing has a unique status. Home to the imperial palaceand court since 1420, it is china’s political and cultural centre, andhost of the 2008 Olympics! This section focused on the expansion ofthe city and the many new buildings springing up as a result of theOlympics, including Herzog & De Meuron’s National Stadium.

After the exhibition the team headed to the café for something to eatwhilst discussing views on what they liked. The city of ‘Shenzen’ drewa particular favourite- Ji Ji’s ‘Hi Panda’ figures! Many said that theyenjoyed the SHANGHAI section especially those grouped in theXINTIANDI section, a new commercial development in the city.‘Xintandi’ is Chinese for ‘New World’, and relates to how the districthas captured the imagination of westerners and the Chinese alike.The area is a new home for a range of designers- fashion, furniture,interior design, ceramics all sit side by side. Soaring high by MANFeng, was a particular favourite. MAN Feng is an established NewYork fashion designer, who has recently set up a studio in theXintandi district of Shanghai, and makes dresses for specialoccasions.

Another popular choice in ‘Shangai’ was the ‘Trendsetters’ section.including work selected from Vision Magazine. Vision, founded by theChen Yifei in 2001, is one of the most popular style magazines inChina. We liked ‘Chen Man, Preference’ cover artwork for one ofVision’s editions.

Other members of the team enjoyed the BEIJING works such as the‘Commercial Ambitions’ section which looked at how large scalecommercial developments are appearing in the city, and Foster &Partners’ ‘Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal Three’.

The group said goodbye to the Victoria & Albert Museum, casting afascinated eye at architect, Zaha Hadid’s ‘Swarm’ sculpture as theyleft.

The ‘Design Matters’ Team really enjoyedmeeting young people from Fulham duringthe pre-summer sessions.

Thanks for joining us on the journey.

Dive into the world of design & architecture with ‘Design Matters’Creative & Educational Activities for young people living & studying in Fulham

For more information on ‘Design Matters’ contact Kirsty Morris on:07530 361 892 or designmatters@csm.arts.ac.uk

Partners: The Fulham ‘Design Matters’ Progamme was commissioned by North Fulham NDC andis match funded by Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design.

Run by Central Saint Martins, the college works in partnership with local education providerHammersmith & Fulham Urban Studies Centre.