MEDS Workshop
MEDS (Meeting of Design Students) is an international association created for students and young professionals of various design disciplines. Hosted in a different country each year, MEDS Workshops give 200 participants the opportunity to work closely in a team of international students/graduates from across the globe. Each workshop is two weeks long and so problem solving, team work and motivation are crucial for reaching the tight deadline. This is an ideal experience for students, enabling them to develop design and construct a 1:1 project influenced by different disciplines. Participants and tutors could have a background in architecture, fashion and textile design, interior architecture, furniture design, landscape architecture and urban design for example.
MEDS Byblos
2018
Byblos, Lebanon, is famous for its ancient culture and history - suggested as being the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. The theme for the 2018 workshop was 'DiverCity', focussing on multiple social and economic groups present in the town, celebrating the community and space they share together. This theme developed solutions which could be utilised by all groups, largely focussing on public spaces.
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My project was 'The Cube' which aimed at creating a public space where people could gather and exchange ideas. The pavilion design accommodated multiple uses suitable for the community and its locations. It is deemed the 'Room that is not a room', by creating a volume that has no walls.
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Tutor: Elie Abou Jaoudé
Participants: Deimis Bakunas, Elira Beqaj, Marisa Borabo, Vera Bouez, Kate Hunter Handley, Jure Korosec, Adrian Alfonso Laborda, Lydia Morgan, Sean Nolan, Ilke Senturk, Climtare Syla
MEDS Gent
2017
The theme 'Urban Haven' put emphasis on the fight for a circular economy in reaction to climate change, the fight for space and the scarcity of materials. The 2017 workshop located in Gent, Belgium embraces this way of thinking, becoming the inspiration for MEDS projects around the Old Gent Harbour which borders the city centre. Old abandoned hangars in this industrial area were used as a 'breeding ground of creativity and initiative' for the workshop. The projects were to be sustained and used after the workshop was over by involved initiatives.
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I worked alongside twelve international students and two tutors on the 'Butterfly Boat'. We were given the task of refurbishing and redesigning a small 1940's houseboat. The Butterfly Boat is owned by IN DE RUIMTE, a Belgian initiative which rents out the boat to artists. The idea was to fight obsolescence through recycling materials, giving flea market goods a second lease of life and create a minimal design all within 10 working days.
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Tutor: Carlota Stuermer, Jennifer Beitel
Participants: Iva Keselicová, Elli Kikidi, Anvitaa Patil, Saumya Joseph, Natradee Quek, Lydia Morgan, Gent Paloka, Veljko Vulanovic, Nojoud Ashour, Shaharin Annisa, Anna Ginter, Ana Jerónimo
Photos on this page are a mixture of my own, the MEDS Media team and shared participant photos.