MIT Learning Laboratory for Complex Systems

Narratives

Architect Narrative

WHAT EXEMPLARY IDEAS DO THE DESIGNS CONTAIN THAT ENHANCE LEARNING?

The client, an internationally renowned technological university’s aerospace engineering department, has created a sweeping new educational initiative to produce the engineering leaders of the future. To facilitate this initiative and to ensure optimum learning opportunities, the client, others in the university’s community and the architect, formed a unique partnership to undertake a complete redesign and reconstruction of its facilities.

TEACHING FOR THE REAL WORLD
As scientific and technical knowledge expanded rapidly during the latter part of the 20th century, engineering education evolved into the teaching of engineering science with little regard for engineering practice. Aware of the industry and society’s needs and the tension between academic and practical engineering demands, the client launched an extensive examination of the issue.

CDIO
The client developed and codified a comprehensive understanding of skills needed by the contemporary engineer. Through the use of focus groups of engineering faculty, students, industry representatives, university visiting committees, alumni, and academicians; through extensive surveys; and through study of industry of desired skills for engineers, the client created the vision of an education stressing the fundamentals, set in the context of CDIO/Conceiving-Designing-Implementing-Operating complex systems and products. A detailed curriculum was organized around the basic disciplines, with CDIO activities highly interwoven.

The CDIO program is rich with student projects complemented by internships in industry. It features active, experiential, and group learning set in both the classroom and this unique learning workshop/laboratory, networked with the outside world. Most importantly, the CDIO initiative was developed as a universal template that can be adopted and adapted by any engineering university.

LEARNING SPACE AS PRODUCT
The client’s break-through changes in engineering education demanded break-through changes in the learning space. Learning space is a product. The client and architect formed an Integrated Product Team to develop this product. The team understood that:
• learning occurs both inside and outside of class,
• direct experience decisively shapes individual understanding,
• different learning styles must be supported;
• change in environment is stimulating.

DIFFERENT LEARNING/DIFFERENT SPACE
A variety of learning modes were identified, and the client determined to foster them with varied, flexible spaces. Each element of CDIO would be facilitated:
• Conceive space allows students to envision new systems, understand user needs, and develop concepts. It emphasizes reflection, reinforces interaction and allows easy access to the library/resource center.
• Design space supports cooperative digitally supported design; allows student to design, and understand interaction; provides central and team breakout rooms; and is in proximity to workshop space, reinforcing connection.
• Implement space allows students to build systems; includes mechanical, electronic, and specialty fabrication; is visible to students and visitors; and includes software engineering and integration.
• Operate space offers students opportunities to operate their experiments and projects, and simulate operations of real systems.

GOALS/OBJECTIVES
The goal of the program is to create an innovative, highly effective educational framework for educating the next generation of engineering leaders:
• Creating a New Educational Paradigm: To provide industry with engineers who have the abilities, talents and experiences it needs; create a universally adaptable model for all engineering schools that forms a basis for curricular planning and outcome based assessment; and, to design and integrate the physical learning environment to foster the identified modes of learning and education.
• Improving Communications: To integrate cutting-edge communication technology access throughout the environment, so that learning, research, collaboration, and discussions can happen anywhere, at any time.
• Encouraging “Think Tank” Atmosphere: To encourage hands-on project design and implementation by facilitating both small- and large-scale group projects onsite.

WHAT INNOVATIONS IN THE PLANNING, PROGRAMMING AND DESIGN PROCESS SUPPORTED THE REALIZATION OF THOSE EXEMPLARY IDEAS?

COLLABORATIVE PROJECT WORK SESSIONS
Collaborative project work sessions were held to find ways to physically combine traditionally separate learning environments into more compressed, enriched and interactive settings. The design team generated ideas by investigating successful use patterns and configurations in modern business as well as educational environments.

Identification of various student learning modes was also important in determining adjacencies and size criteria for the spaces. Student and faculty input was solicited through a dedicated web site, generating feedback about design approaches. As a result, the design was closely integrated with curriculum and pedagogy.

CHANGING EDUCATIONAL CULTURE
The renovations and addition create highly flexible and open space that allows students and faculty to work in modern team environments throughout the building on projects of varying size and complexity. The design reorganizes the 50,000 s. f. building to remove communication barriers between different teaching, research, and lab activities, as well as between students and faculty. Floors were removed and lowered, hallways demolished, and a central wind tunnel gave way to an open stair and light well.

Applying the CDIO approach, the building is zoned functionally with cleaner, quieter “Conceive” spaces higher in the building, moving to the dirtier, noisier spaces below. The 6,000 s.f., three story “Hangar” acts a “Think Tank” for large scale student projects and adds new connections to all three levels. All CDIO functions and student resources are visible and accessible from the central space. This creates openness, with new horizontal and vertical movement through the building, changing the culture of the environment.

Combining classroom functions and hands-on environments, the space physically translates the pedagogical approach and goals of the client to encompass the full range of engineering process skills in CDIO of complex systems. Applying lessons of the workplace to the academic setting, the new program works as a collaborative, physical environment supporting strategic mission, productivity, and recruitment of top talent.

CREATING A NEW EDUCATIONAL PARADIGM
Traditionally separate activities are compressed in smaller yet open spaces with communication. Students and faculty move from shop to classroom, from project areas to individual breakout spaces, from higher tech media rooms to links with the outside such as other universities, industry and government.

Essentially the Lab is a mini-company. Areas such as the Project Design Room specifically replicate facilities found in industry, allowing graduating students real-world experience. The new “Hangar” offers a place where large-scale projects such as human-powered aircraft and solar-powered car, can be run on campus as part of the learning.

IMPROVING COMMUNICATION AND DESIGNING NEW WORK TOOLS
Defining the lab spaces and Project Areas, a new Steelcase system called “Pathways” (an office system modified for academic lab space) provides the infrastructure to quickly hang partitions, whiteboards, and projection surfaces, as well as overhead access to power and data. All spaces incorporate network access to fully link the lab within the University, as well as with other university, government and industry locations. Whiteboards, informal tables and chairs transform formerly inefficient spaces into “found spaces” for informal exchange.

ENCOURAGING “THINK TANK” AND CORPORATE/INSTITUTIONAL INNOVATION
The new CDIO focus and integration of classrooms, computer and shop align the teaching environment with how industry actually operates. This represents a new model for education internationally, one that encourages “Think Tank” innovation.

As a result, the Learning Laboratory has taken on international significance. Under Sweden’s Wallenberg Foundation, the university teamed with three Swedish universities in a multi-year project to develop a CDIO-based model for reforming engineering education — representative of how educators, architects, and engineers from around the world are seeking out the new facility.