1.0 Setting
Up
- Originally four NU Law Lab students signed up for class, but currently one student signed up
- Marilyn tells story of her first post-grad job working in construction
- Dan shows up with NU Student, Kevin
- First day of Spring quarter for upper level law students, changes during add/drop period expected
- Finalized NU student list by Wednesday’s class
History of the NU Law Lab
- Dan was hired as director at the founding
- Had to form an advisory board of “knoweldged, learned people”
- Given a list with names created from a meeting brainstorm
- Found Marilyn’s name on list and searched website for her work
- Cookies and lemonade meeting to connect and learn from each other before appointing board
- Still to this day, no one knows how Marilyn’s name got on the list
Project Preparation
- During today’s class, three design problems were addressed
- Supplies for class’s design solutions include Bristol board, construction paper, colored tape, markers, scissors, glue, etc.
The Big Take-Away from the class set up and introductions would be that regardless of our situation, we must listen to the wise words of Tim Gunn and “make it work.” Meaning that no matter how many law students or where we find ourselves in our first post-graduation jobs, everything will work out.
2.0 What do Architects and Lawyers do?
- Beginning with what architects do, the class listed the various roles and responsibilities that architects face
- From this familiar list, Kevin and Dan described what lawyers do and what roles they play
- The similarities from both lists include problem solving, critical thinking, responsibility to the public, communicating, networking, persuading, coordinating, analyzing, building (arguments), drawing (conclusions), and designing (arguments and solutions)
- Lawyers tend to respond to architects with “we don’t do what you do; you are creative”
The Big Take-Away
from the comparison of architects and lawyers would be that each do similar
things and play similar roles, just in different contexts. The everyday
functions and actions of architects run parallel to the everyday functions and
actions of lawyers. One of the biggest challenges we face in this class is that
most people in law school don’t think they’re creative, because they don’t know
how to draw or make. However, lawyers are a different type of creative – they have
to be creative at times in different ways.
3.0 Design Challenge
Task
- From the given situations, identify three different problems
- Propose solutions addressing all three problems – could be one solution covering all or three unique solutions
- Create a visual that enables and supports the proposed solutions
- For each situation, only 15 minutes are given to complete all tasks
Problems
- Problem 1: redesign unisex bathroom in Annex Central downstairs (next to vending machines)
- Problem 2: MBTA map
- Problem 3: Document (identified as the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence)
Rounds
- During round one, any means of communication and visual were fair game
- Round two eliminated written words in the visual created to demonstrate solutions
- Round three forced each group to identify the problems, propose solutions, and create a visual without speaking to each other or writing anything
Conclusions
- The most commonly agreed hardest round was when the groups could not talk to each other – one group even had each person come up with their own solution
- The document provided the most easily identified issues
- The process of communication dictated the solutions
- Without words in group discussions and problem solving, the visual solution had to stand on its own and truly show all
The Big Take-Away
from the design challenge would be that when facing each situation as a
problem, it was easier to identify the issues and propose solutions. With
different situations, we had to come up with innovative and unexpected
responses to each. When forced to complete the task with varying levels of
communication, the approach changes – sometimes when you can’t talk it through,
more ideas flow and there’s less fear of judgement.