Intro to course
Week 1
First photo of Thomsons Land, bright blue sky!
This course was a second option for me, primarily because of the workload. I thought it would be a lot of work, but it was different from what I expected. You know they say – there’s always something better when you do not get what you wanted. Like a blessing in disguise. This was answered when Rachel was introducing the first week’s class. Everything seems smooth and it was enjoyable.
As a new student in Edinburgh, I was worried about finding my way to Thomsons Land. It’s a 30 minutes walk from my house. However, I did arrive earlier than expected. It came to my surprise that the class is combined with undergraduate students. It was nice meeting all the tutors. I was curious to find out how we all get along for the next few weeks.
As Rachel was introducing the course outline, I was eager to know the actual content of the course. She summarized the things we will learn such as environmental issues being the big topic and comes other sub-topics like environmental design, politics, humans, and others. There was also four main topics we will work on which is:
1. Experience and the environment: Design and the senses, Making and Consumption
2. Stories and stuff: Labour, Social Justice, and Design
3. Materials and (New) Materialism: Bodies, Resources and Pollution
4. Environmental Futures: Time, Hope, Possibilities in Design
All four of them to me is quite complex to understand at first. I might know or not know what those topic is all about. I might have some knowledge or I don’t at all. But I don’t think it matters as I am here to learn new things or expand my knowledge – that’s the whole point of me joining the class anyways. I am hoping by the end of this semester I am still eager to learn more about these topics and situate them in my practice, which is interior design. Or if I was ever going to change my passion, it can also be useful for future use. Looking forward of whats to come!
Love, aliah
Hi Aliah, many thanks for sharing your initial thoughts and motivations for taking this course. It sounds like you’ve got a very constructive and positive approach to the material discussed on Environmental Design, so I hope the course proves to be as insightful as you expect it to be.