LAB 001
31 January 2019
LAB 001 began with a day-long schedule of activities, giving designers exercises to encourage team-building and critical thinking. The aim of the exercises was to encourage self-driven, analytical thinking skills in the designers, equipping them with the fundamentals on how to think about their own work.
The next day was focused on local manufacturers visits, where the designers were taken on a tour of 5 different factories, recommended by Make Works UAE, exploring different materials and processes. These visits are essential to the programme, as they not only introduce the designers to incredibly skilled craftsmen, but further strength the relationship between designers and manufacturers. They also encourage the designers to start thinking about what materials and techniques they may want to experiment for their own projects.
On the third and final day of LAB 001, the designers were introduced to the equipment available at Tashkeel, like the laser-cutter, heat press and woodwork. The underlying theme of LAB 001 was to be mindful of the principles of design that the other designers valued, and then to create simple functional gifts based on those values on the last day, in a rapid-prototyping session at Tashkeel in the 3D studio.
