Design for the Future: Impact Project Hub at ASHS

2023 Impact Projects have started with a hiss and a roar at Albany Senior High School. 

In this Impact Hub, students are presented with the challenge of forecasting how current trends and patterns might impact the future, spanning a timeframe of five, ten, or even fifty years. The aim is to design solutions that will have a positive impact on both people and the planet.

To achieve this, students discuss and understand global issues at hand, including climate change and social inequality, and then narrow their focus to a particular area where they want to create change. From there the emphasis shifts to prototyping and iteration. This allows students to test their ideas quickly and explore innovative solutions, all while developing skills in areas such as 3D and CAD modelling, model-making, and how to provide constructive feedback to peers. This hands-on approach fosters a student-driven learning journey that follows their train of thinking towards a refined potential solution. The idea is that at the end of the semester students will have a CAD (computer aided design) model or physical model of their future solution to present.

Projects currently underway include the development of 3D printed accessories that can adapt to the needs of wheelchair users, designing prosthetics for younger children, an open source and affordable ocean clean up robot and several students exploring new personal transport by repurposing discarded electric scooters.

During the previous semester, student Luca Jaimeson recognised the importance of recycling 3D printing waste and old 3D models. To address this need, he developed and constructed a functional recycling machine that is suitable and safe for use at Albany Senior. Constructing a functional recycling machine was only part of the solution as it was equally important to understand the mechanisms and welding techniques used in the machine to ensure its proper functioning. This involved learning about the various components of the machine, how they work together, and troubleshooting build issues as they arose.

A group of ex-AJHS students are designing sustainable housing to be both modular and easily adaptable. Their focus is on reducing the environmental impact of buildings, while also maximising functionality with the ability to add or remove modules as needed. Each student has taken their own spin on this collective idea with one looking at communal living pods, one designing a floating residence to address rising sea levels and another looking to repurposing containers. Once their initial ideas are proptyped in CAD, students have identified the need for the integration of renewable energy sources and other sustainable technologies that facilitate energy conservation and waste reduction.