Last week's session (12/3) was a very important one, since the groups were exposed to real working professionals, each from a different discipline, sharing their knowledge and expertise voluntarily, on how to tackle this difficult multidisciplinary challenge.
The first one to present was Dr Stefanos Anastasiou - Architect and Facade Engineer, who delivered a talk on techniques to break down the problem in different parameters in order to identify the key design constraints and necessary activities. He then walked the audience through this process by outlining a case study of a modern airport (Shenzen Bao'an International Airport), paying particular attention to the shell of the building facilities.
Stefanos was followed by Dr Nicholas Kyriakides, an experienced structural engineer and researcher, who walked the teams through the main considerations when designing large span structures, focussing on the special needs of airport terminals. Nicholas stressed the importance of vibrations and loads pertinent to temperature variations in such structures. He ended his talk by showing and explaining various structural systems pertinent to airport terminals.
The dynamic duo from Open Box/ Chrysalis LEAP, Paris Thomas and Deano Symeonides followed. Paris and Deano stressed that for any project, especially for large infrastructure projects, the right business model can make the difference in finding (or not finding) investment to proceed. Paris is a Strategyzer certified Business Model Canvas Trainer and reference to an example of how you can present your business model as a story was given through a video about ENERMAP's Business Model. Furthermore, tapping from their experience with Open Box, Paris and Deano mentioned the importance of team dynamics and balance in achieving a great outcome as a team
After a 15 minute break to digest the information overload, each group sat for 35 minutes with each guest to discuss their projects.
At the end of the 35 minute session, Groups rotated between specialists, asking questions and validating their assumptions and taking notes.
During these meetings, the guest speakers gave students a taste of professional life, being inquisitive about progress and next steps. They all stressed the importance of good research and start synthesizing solutions, while at the same time validating hypotheses. Since this is a concept project, detailed design is not required but it is important to identify the key challenges and where possible offer potential solutions.
The end of a very long day found students exhausted but satisfied for having a fruitful interaction with the guests. There's still a lot of work to be done, but a solid foundation is in place.
Coming next: Visiting the closed airport (19/3).
Coming next: Visiting the closed airport (19/3).