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Salolainen, Maarit; Partanen, Jouni; Moslemian, Oldouz; Suorlahti, Eeva; Kiviluoma, Panu;Niinimäki, KirsiCrossing over Boundaries through Experimental Pedagogy

Published in:REDO

Published: 31/05/2017

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Please cite the original version:Salolainen, M., Partanen, J., Moslemian, O., Suorlahti, E., Kiviluoma, P., & Niinimäki, K. (2017). Crossing overBoundaries through Experimental Pedagogy. In A. L. Bang, M. Mikkelsen, & A. Flinck (Eds.), REDO: CumulusConference Proceedings (pp. 156-168). Cumulus association.

Copyright©2017.Thecopyrightofeachpaperinthisconferenceproceedingsisthepropertyoftheauthor(s).Permissionisgrantedtoreproducecopiesoftheseworksforpurposesrelevanttotheaboveconference,providedthattheauthor(s),sourceandcopyrightnoticeareincludedoneachcopy.Forotherusespleasecontacttheauthor(s).

CrossingoverBoundariesthroughExperimentalPedagogyMaaritSalolainena*,JouniPartanenb,OldouzMoslemiana,EevaSuorlahtia,PanuKiviluomab,KirsiNiinimäkia

aAaltoUniversity,SchoolofArts,DesignandArchitecturebAaltoUniversity,SchoolofEngineering*Correspondingauthore-mail:maarit.salolainen@aalto.fi

Abstract: This paper describes an experimental teaching platform,which aims tocrossoverboundariestoeducatefuturedesignersandengineers.TheExperimentalTextileDesignmodule (ETD) is amultidisciplinary setof coursesdevelopedunderFashion, Clothing, and Textile Design program within School of Arts, Design andArchitecture in cooperation with The School of Engineering at Aalto University.Through redoing design pedagogy by opening theworld of engineering to designstudentsandespeciallybyexposingdesignmethodologiesandthevisualresearchprocesses to engineering students, we can help collaborative teams to redo thefuture.

Keywords:Experimentalteaching,Multidisciplinary,Collaboration,Textiledesign

1.ContextandobjectivesTheveryessenceoftextiledesignliesincooperationandmultidisciplinaryapproach.Textilesarecommonlyimplementedasmaterialorcomponentwithvarietyofpurposesinclothing,interiors,medicine,architectureandothertechnicalapplications.Educatingindividualswithabilitiestoworkinmultidisciplinaryenvironmentswith“hybrid”skillsandknowledge,capableofrethinkingdesignfutures,shouldbeencouraged.

TheExperimentalTextileDesignmodule(ETD)isamultidisciplinarysetofcoursesdevelopedunderFashion,Clothing,andTextileDesignprogramwithinSchoolofArts,Design,andArchitectureincooperationwithTheSchoolofEngineeringatAaltoUniversity.Themainobjectiveofthismoduleistoprovideaplatformtoshareknowledgeandopentherealmoftextilestoabroaderaudience.Itencouragesstudentstodevelopideasamongpeersfromdifferentbackgroundsthroughcollaborationandimplementtheirskillsintootherdisciplines.Themoduleprovidesanopportunityfordesignandengineeringstudentstoexploreexperimentaldesignapproachesandfabricationprocesses.Newandinnovativeproductscanresultfrominterdisciplinaryprojects,inwhichtextilelogicsandconstructionmethodsareappliedtonon-textilematerialsorinverselyinnovativetextilecompositionscanemergefromintegrationofnewtechnologies.

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2.StructureandTeachingMethodsTheETDmoduleisofferedtofirstyearmaster’sstudentsduringthefirstsemester.In2016,thismoduleinvolved28participantswithvariousbackgrounds,including22studentsfromtheSchoolofArts,DesignandArchitectureand6studentsfromtheSchoolofEngineering(Table1).

Table1.Providesinformationonparticipatingstudentsandtheirstudybackgrounds.

AaltoUniversitySchools ProgramofStudy No.ofstudents

SchoolofArts,Design,andArchitecture

TextileDesign 7

FashionDesign 10

CeramicsandProductDesign 2

SpatialDesign 1

VisualCultureandContemporaryArt 1

IndustrialDesign 1

SchoolofEngineering MechanicalEngineering 4

EngineeringPhysics 1

AutomationandInformationTechnology 1

28Total

Adaptivetostudents’skillsetsandinaccordancetotheirpersonalstudyplan,thestructureoftheETDmoduleallowsthestudentstotakepartinanumberofcoursesbasedontheirnecessitiesforknowledgeandareasofinterest(Table2).Thiseightweeksintensivemoduleiscomprisedofthefollowingsections:

• ResearchandConceptDevelopmentcourse• ARTsENGCollaborativeproject• PhotoandPresentationworkshop• BasicStudioWorkshops:Knittingstudio,Printingstudio,andWovenFabricsstudio

Table2.PresentstheweeklyscheduleoftheEDTmoduleinwhichdifferentsectionsofthecoursearestudied.

CourseSchedule

ResearchandConceptDevelopment

PrintedfabricsStudio

Knitsandknitwearstudio

WovenFabricsstudio

PhotoandPresentationWorkshop

ARTsENGCollaborativeProject

Week1

Week2

Week3

Week4

Week5

Week6

Week7

Week8

Thismultidisciplinarymoduleconcentratesonteachingcoreskillsofvisualresearch,conceptdevelopment,andtextiletechniquesthroughlearning-by-doing.Theteachingmethodsarebasedon

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constructivistteachingapproachesinwhichthegrowthofknowledgeistheresultofindividualconstructionsmadebythelearner'sunderstanding(Piaget,1973).Teachersguideeachstudenttorealisetheirprojectsthroughcontinuousandactivedialoguewiththelearnerinindividualandgrouptutoringsessions(Bauersfeld,1995;RhodesandBellamy,1999).

ThispaperfocusesonthemultidisciplinaryaspectsofResearchandConceptDevelopmentcourse,ARTsENGCollaborativeproject,andPhotoandPresentationworkshopsectionsoftheEDTmodule.

3.ResearchandConceptDevelopmentCourseThemultidisciplinaryResearchandConceptDevelopmentcourseestablishesaplatformforstudentstogenerateandsolidifytheirconceptsthroughvisualcommunicationandresearch.Thecourseincludesproductionofmood-boards,researchbooksandexperimentalsamplesreflectinguponthestudents’visualresearch.

TheInitialtaskistodeveloptwomood-boardsthroughtranslationofnotionsintovisualelements.Thestudentsfirstopenadiscoursewithintheirtopics,bydrawingassociationsandreferencesthroughvarietyofaspectssuchascultural,social,political,economical,andemotional,aswellastechniques,products,andmaterials.Tofurthersolidifytheconcepts,thestudentsareacquaintedwithnotionsofmood,contextandtargettoestablishthethemesandidentifytheobjectivesoftheprojects.

Figure1.ExamplesofVisualResearchBooksdevelopedbystudents.LeftImage:ElinaÄärelä,2016(photocredits:ElinaÄärelä)–RightImage:MatildaTuure,2016(photocredits:EevaSuorlahti)

Totranslatetheirvisualresearchintotangibleobjects,thestudentsareencouragedtochallengeconventionalmethodsofproduction.Basedontheirindividualideas,widerangeoftechniquesandmaterialsareexaminedthroughexplorativemethodsandcontinuousiterativeapproaches.This

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experimentalprocessallowsthestudentstoconfronttheirinitialideastomaterialisation.Thismaterialinputprovidesinsightandraisesnewquestionsthatfocustheproject’sdirection.

Theresearchbooksaretheprincipaloutcomeofthevisualresearch.Theyconstituteanessentialtoolandareconstructedbycontinuouscollectionofvisualreferencesandprocessworksutilizingsketching,photography,writing,andothermeansofdocumentation.Documentationprocessisfundamentaltorecordandillustratebothempiricalandtechnicalaspectsoftheexperimentations.Theycrystallisethesimultaneousiterationsbetweentheconceptualresearchandthematerialexperimentations.

Throughvisualresearch,studentsextractimagesfromtheircontextandcreatenewideas.Theabstractionoftheimages’contentallowsforversatileinterpretationandisusedasaninspirationaltoolforconceptualizationanddefiningproblems.Whilemanipulatingconceptsandcommunicatingideasthroughimagesisfamiliartodesignstudents,engineeringstudentsareoftenassignedapredefinedproblemtobesolved.Theopenandexplorativeapproachofvisualresearchingeneratingthedesignobjectivesmovesbeyondthecommonlylinearandanalyticalengineeringstudies.

Moreimportantly,theorganizationofthoughtsthroughdiversevisualmediacreatesacommunication“bridge”amongengineeringanddesignstudentsthatallowsforcrossingoverfieldspecificterminologiesandmind-sets.

Figure2.ExperimentalSampleCollectionthroughVisualResearch,HelmiLiikanen,2016(photocredits:HelmiLiikanen)

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4.ARTsENGCollaborativeProjectThismultidisciplinaryprojectestablishesaninnovativeplatformforstudentstomergetechnologyanddesignandtoexploreuniquewaysofdevelopingexperimentaltextiles,materials,structuresandfabricationmethods.In2016,18studentsformed6groupsof3:including2designand1engineeringstudent.

Throughlecturesandpresentations,thestudentsarefamiliarisedwithsubjectsencompassingresponsiveandkineticsystems,hybridorcompositematerials,aswellasdigitaldesignandfabricationmethodssuchas3DprintingandLaserCutting.Studentgroupsareformedthroughgainingperspectiveoftheirareasofinterestandanactiveconversationsurroundingtheabovementionedtopics.

DirectlylinkedtotheapproachesofResearchandConceptDevelopmentcourse,thestudentsdeveloptheirprojectideasingroups.Theteamsconducttheirexperimentalworkthroughiterativeapproachesandexplorativeprototyping.Theseprototypesoperateasmeansforlearning,communication,integration,andmilestones(Ulrich&Eppinger,1995).ThismethodislinkedtoConstructiveDesign,whichdefines“adesignresearchinwhichconstruction[…]takescenterplaceandbecomesthekeymeansinconstructingknowledge”(Koskinen,etal.,2011,p.5).Themethodofresearchthroughdesignsuitsthiscourseastheexperimentanditsoutcomesarethekeyelementsofproducingtheresearchquestionortheproblemtobesolved.Thisframeworkembodiesperspectivesofactionandpracticeasthemainelementsofknowing(Schön,1983;Johnson,2007).

Figure3.MaterialresearchprocessandprototypinginARTsENGCollaborativeProjects.LeftImage:Atso-KasperCostiander,experimentationinceramicsandelectronics,2016(photocredits:MikkoHoffren)–RightImage:Electronicsprototypingfor“Lucidum”Project,2016(photocredits:CarolinaForss)

Asacomplementarypedagogicalapproachaimingatfurtherintegrationofdisciplines,studentsfrombothdesignandengineeringdepartmentareaccountabletoprovideworkshopsrelevanttotheirareaofexpertiseandknowledgetotheirfellowstudents.Theseworkshopsincludeintroductiontoknitting,weaving,andprintingtechniquesintextiledesignandworkshopsconcerning3Dmodelling,3Dprintingandbasicelectronicsinengineering.Thisknowledgeconstructionenablesstudentstotransferinformationand“acquirecreativity,independence,self-confidenceandkeycompetencies,

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suchastheabilitytoworkinteams,theabilitytocommunicate,complexthinking[…],andtheabilitytostructureinformationandgenerateknowledge”(GrzegaandSchöner,2008,p.169).

Thiscollaborationallowsthestudentstofamiliarisethemselveswithexperimentalresearchmethods,conceptandproductdevelopmentapproaches,andbroaderpotentialapplicationareasoftheirknowledgebeyondtheconventionsoftheirstudyrealm.

5.PhotoandPresentationWorkshopTheconceptofthePhotoandPresentationworkshoprelatestomarketingandbrandingofadevelopedproduct.ConductedasthefinalstageoftheETDmodule,inthisworkshopallstudentsdocumenttheoutcomesoftheirresearch,experimentalsamples,andcollaborativeprojects.Studentscreativelyproducepowerfulgraphiccontentbymeansofset-ups,still-photos,videosandanimationswithinthephotographystudios.Employingahands-onapproach,thisworkshopisusedasastorytellingtoolforstudentstocohesivelycommunicatetheconceptsandstatementsoftheirprojectsthroughhigh-qualityandimpactfulvisualpresentations.Thisworkshophighlightstheimportanceandpowerofwell-executedpresentationstoeffectivelycommunicatetheoutcome.

Figure4.PhotoandPresentationWorkshop,Photo-ShootsessionofstudentKiaRossi,2016(photocredits:EevaSuorlahti)

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6.CaseExamplesofExperimentalSamples

Figure5.Challengingparadigmsofone’sfieldbyexposuretoanother.ExperimentalTextileSample,“Textilemechanics”,MaxCedercreutz,2016(photocredits:MaxCedercreutz)

“Textilemechanics”,developedbyengineeringstudentMaxCedercreutz,showcasesanexperimentalsampleprojectincorporatingtextilesasintegralcomponentswithinmechanicalstructures.Cedercreutzinvestigatedopposingnotionsofrigidityandflexibilityduringhisvisualresearch.Experimentingwithtextilematerialsinspiredhimtodesignaseriesofprototypesby3Dprintingontextiles,inwhichthelatterbehaveasstructuralcomponentsandhingesinmechanicalstructures.Althoughtherealmof3Dprintingisfamiliartomostengineeringstudents,thisprojectdemonstratesthepotentialsofcollaborationandexposureofstudentstomaterialsandmethodsofproductionfromotherdisciplines.

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Figure6.Interactionwithotherfieldssparklinginspirationanddiffusingknowledge.ExperimentalTextileSample,“HighTide”,MatildaTuure,2016(photocredits:MatildaTuure)

Inspiredbynotionsofviscosityandcontrol,designstudentMatildaTuureinvestigatedthevisualpotentialsofmagneticphenomenathroughexperimentswithferrofluidsandironoxide.The“HighTide”projectisanartisticexplorationofmovementandpatternsgeneratedwithvarietyofmagnetisedviscousmixturesondifferentsurfacesusingmagnetsasatool.TuuretooktheinitiativeofcommunicatingwiththeAaltoUniversity,AppliedPhysicsdepartment,acquiringinsightandmaterialsamples.Thisexampledemonstrateshowtheinteractionwithotherfieldsofstudycanstimulateinnovativeapproachesandinstigatediffusionofknowledge.

7.CaseExamplesofARTSsENGCollaborationThe“JMW-Textile”projectwasdevelopedbydesignstudentsWalterGötschandJustusKantakoskiincooperationwithengineeringstudentMasiTammela.Themaingoaloftheprojectconsistedofexploringalternativemethodsofcreatingmalleabletextileswithinflexiblematerials.Afterresearchintogeometriesandmodularcompositions,samplesweregeneratedfromnumerouslaser-cutwoodenelementsattachedindiverseconfigurations.Theprojectresultedinseriesofexperimentalprototypesthatembodythefunctionalandaestheticcharacteristicsoftextiles,whilepresentingpropertiesuncommontotraditionaltextiles.

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Figure7.Unconventionaltextilesthroughintegrationofalternativefabricationtechnologies.ARTsENGProject,“JMW-Textile”,WalterGötsch,JustusKantakoski&MasiTammela,2016(photocredits:WalterGötsch)

Figure8.Innovativeyetrealisticproductdevelopment.ARTsENGProject,“Lucidum”,CarolinaForssandHelmiLiikanen&TeresiaBorgman,2016(photocredits:TeresiaBorgman)

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“Lucidum”isane-textileprojectreflectingupontheideasoflostandfound.DesignstudentsCarolinaForssandHelmiLiikanenincollaborationwithengineeringstudentTeresiaBorgmanconductedthisprojectthroughamoreconventionalandlineardesignapproach.Thegoalwastoproposeafunctionalsolutiontotheproblemoffindingitemsindeepanddarkhandbagsandpockets.Theprojectresultedinthedesignofasystemofpocketthatlightsupwhenopened,usingthepocket’sflapasthelightswitch.Thetechnicalchallengeswereaddressedthroughexperimentingwithmaterialssuchasfibreopticsandluminescenttextilecoatings,andembeddingofelectronicandconductivecomponents.Collaborationofdifferentdisciplinescanresultininnovativeyetrealisticdesignsolutions.

8.ConclusionIntheETDmodule,studentslearnhowtomanagecreativeprocessesresultingininnovativeproductsandcombiningtextiletechniqueswithskillsfromthefieldsofart,design,scienceandengineering.Designandengineeringstudentslearntocollaborateandconductexperimentationsinmultidisciplinarygroupsandtodevelopstrongcommunicationskills.Theactivityofdesigningandthedesignedobjectastheoutcomeisavalidsourceofdataforreflection,analysis,andknowledgedevelopment(Pedgley,2007;Bye,2010).

Thepedagogicalpurposeofthemoduleistocrosstheboundariesbetweendisciplines.Theaimandchallengeofestablishingfruitfulcollaborationistoovercometheconventionalroledistributionbetweenengineersanddesignersbasedontheirknowledge,backgroundandskillsets.Itisimportanttoequallyinvolvestudentsthroughoutallphasesofthecoursesuchasconceptdevelopment,visualresearch,experimentationsandtechnicalresearch.

Bydisseminatingknowledge,multidisciplinaryplatformssuchastheETDmodulebuildlinksbetweenfieldsthatwillflourishwithintheacademicsystemandprovidefutureprofessionalswithessentialcommunicationskills.Throughredoingdesignpedagogybyopeningtheworldofengineeringtodesignstudentsandespeciallybyexposingdesignmethodologiesandthevisualresearchprocessestoengineeringstudents,wecanhelpcollaborativeteamstoredothefuture.

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ETDExhibition,SchoolofArts,DesignandArchitecture,AaltoUniversity–2016(photocredits:EevaSuorlahti)

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Education.JournalofTeacherEducation,50(1)17-25.Schön,D.A.(1983).Thereflectivepractitioner:Howprofessionalsthinkinaction.NewYork,NY:Basic

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MacGraw-Hill

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MaaritSalolainen,AdjunctProfessorfor3DSurfaceDesignandespeciallytextilematerials,isanexperiencedinternationaltextiledesignprofessionalwithpassionforbringingtextileknowledgetomultidisciplinaryplatforms.Inadditiontoheracademicwork,sheworksasacreativedirectorconsultinginEuropeanandIndiantextilemanufacturers.

JouniPartanen,ProfessorandheadofMechanicalEngineeringdepartment,teachesandconductsresearchinadvancedproductiontechnologies,suchasAdditiveManufacturing,modernlaserprocessing,andmicromachining.Heisanexperiencedhightechnologyindustryleader(15years)inproductdevelopment,advancedresearch,productionandproductmanagement.

OldouzMoslemian,doctoralcandidateatAaltoUniversitywithintheFashion/TextileFuturesresearchgroup,isateacherinExperimentaltextileDesigncourse.Herresearchfocusesonintegratingdigitalfabricationprocessesandcomputationalmethodswithintherealmoftextilesthroughmultidisciplinarycollaborations.

EevaSuorlahtiworksasateacherinExperimentalTextileDesigncourse.Hermainareaofinterestsisinvisualresearchandcommunicationthroughmaterialsandtechniques.SuorlahtihasgraduatedfromCentralSaintMartinsMAFashionprogramfocusingonmixedmediatextiles.

PanuKiviluomaisaSeniorUniversityLectureratAaltoUniversityDepartmentofMechanicalEngineering.Hehasbeeninstructingmechatronicsandotherinterdisciplinaryprojectcoursessincethe90’s.HewasgrantedTheAwardforAchievementsinTeaching2012bytheSchoolofEngineering.

KirsiNiinimäkiisanAssociateProfessorinDesign,especiallyFashionresearch.Herresearchfocusesonholisticunderstandingofsustainablefashionandtextilefieldsandconnectionsbetweendesign,manufacturing,businessmodelsandconsumption.ShealsorunstheFashion/TextileFuturesresearchgrouphttp://ftfutures.aalto.fi.

Acknowledgements:WewanttothanktheengineeringanddesignstudentsofExperimentalTextileDesigncourse2016forinspirationandopen-mindedattitudeandgreatwork.