Montréal Libraries, Architecture and Design Awareness Program – 2016-2017

Co-design of furniture and interactive environments for teens in libraries 

As part of a project to develop a multipurpose area including a library, a cultural centre, and community recreational space at the René-Masson centre, the borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles held a series of workshops from December 2016 to March 2017.

Students from École secondaire Jean-Grou took part in a hands-on process in a “fab lab” with industrial designer Sébastien Dallaire. The activities included a series of four idea and brainstorming workshops on creating a fun, interactive space for teens, followed by an exhibition of the design documents produced during the workshops.

The students were introduced to the processes and basic concepts of industrial design and learned vocabulary specific to the field. Content covered in the workshops taught the students knowledge required under the Québec Education Program for secondary education, in particular in the subjects of plastic arts, French, mathematics, and science and technology.

Workshop 1: background, topic, reflection, idea development
Workshop 2: design process, basic principles of design
Workshop 3: materialization of ideas
Workshop 4: modelling, model building, presentation texts