Last year Asma Chowdhry from Graveney School, London, developed the New view on design project with the V&A+RIBA Architecture Partnership, as part of the 2008/09 Engaging Places network. The project was such a success that she became part of the 2009/10 network too, building on her experience in this area. This year Asma has partnered with Emilie Rolland from the Tower of London.
White Tower © Djof, flickr.com
Conserving the past…
The White Tower is the central keep in the Tower of London. An iconic symbol of London, it is a very important historic building that has been the subject of a huge conservation programme which is due to finish this winter.
Asma is using the White Tower conservation project as a springboard for White Tower impressions, a Key Stage 3 design and technology project, which will encourage students to use historic buildings as a source of inspiration to design a textile project.
… to support the future
Students will explore the textures and colours of the White Tower to inform their design process in creating a product that could potentially be sold in the Tower shop in order to raise money for future conservation projects.
Through participation in the project, students will:
- increase their confidence in developing and expressing new ideas.
- investigate and evaluate the design of a fortress, identify how values are conveyed through its design and how the design has evolved to suit new needs.
- reinterpret the White Tower design in a new context.
- explore and experiment with ideas, materials and technologies.
The project will mainly take place during design and technology lesson time. However, there will also be a class visit to the Tower of London, when they will have the opportunity to investigate the building’s design and architectural history up close. Come back in summer 2010 to find out how successful the project was.
Inspired?
If you would like to run a similar project with your students have a look at the following resources:
Building conservation: A-Z glossary
The Tower of London is currently running ‘experience conservation’ workshops for Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 students whilst the White Tower is renovated. Read more about the White Tower conservation project.
