Good Life and Flower Tree project

Abstract

This essay titled Good Life and Flower Tree, depicts my journey of generosity and delight, through a body of work about architecture and education developed in Imadol (Nepal), exploring the architect’s skill in project-based learning, supported with art research methods, co-design principles, and the joinedupdesignforschools precedent set up by The Sorrell Foundation. My ongoing research was initiated in my MA by Project Architecture of Rapid Change and Scarce Resources studies – hypothesising how an architectural process can be used as a tool to encourage self-confidence and promote an environment of individual thinking and problem-solving among primary school students. The title ‘Good Life’ was inspired by the thoughts of the philosopher Epictetus, on our misinterpretation of what is truly good in life; and ‘Flower Tree’ was the name given by the students to their design proposal. The process describes my contextual study of Imadol, the art research method I devised from Patricia Leavy’s work to engage with the community, and my experimental design process and its methodology. As the journey of generosity unfolded, to my delight, the students became confident about expressing their ideas through drawing and making (qualitative appreciation), leading to the development of their design proposal (quantitative appreciation).