Our DT projects consist of four steps – explore, design, make and evaluate.

Year 6 are designing chairs for an Action-man sized person. Pupils have been given a brief and have chosen their target customer and the style of chair they will make.

Week one

To begin the project, the pupils explored forces and strong shapes within structures. We looked at the work of architects and identified shapes that they commonly use within buildings. We conducted some experiments and tested structures to their limit! The first experiment was to test paper columns – they could be described as cylinders, cuboids, and triangular based prisms. The columns were made of A4 computer paper and tested by stacking books on top until the structures failed!

We then tested the square against the triangle – 3D structures made from squares verses structures made from triangles (a variation of the truss system) were made with jelly babies and cocktail sticks.

Our conclusion was that triangles and cylinders (column with a round base) are very strong shapes – useful information when designing a chair!

Week two

In week two, we explored the American designers Ray and Charles Eames and their work during and after WW2. We discussed the role of women in the 1940s and 50’s and how Ray Eames was seen by the outside world as Charles’ assistant and not as an equal partner. We have also looked at the work of other designers: Sir David Adjaye (award winning Ghanaian-British architect); Ini Archibong (a young designer of Nigerian descent and born in the United States) and Norman Foster (well-known British architect and designer). The pupils also considered what is really important when designing a chair (being strong, its function and appearance) and have sketched preliminary designs.

Week three

This week, Year 6 have been exploring different joining techniques and are now making prototypes of their chairs from paper straws, paper and masking tape. These models give the children an opportunity to test their designs, structures and calculate dimensions. Pupils will evaluate their prototypes next week before making the final chairs from sturdier materials.

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