We are writing to you with details on our Winter 2023 Session 2 Studios. Below, you will find a brief summary of our studio offerings. 

Imagining the Ideal

This is an advanced visualization studio that will examine and critique the rapid adoption of AI image generation as a tool within the creative process. The studio will be driven, in part, by student-led discussions that center on the dilemmas and opportunities within this emerging field, such as combating bias and inequity inherent to these generative models, how to attribute authorship and credit, and anticipating future roles of artists and designers within this new paradigm. The studio will culminate in a final project in which students will research disparate notions of utopias and dystopias within literature, film, and across cultures, using these findings as creative prompts for AI image generation.

Renewable Design Space 

In this studio, students will explore the medium of Virtual Reality in order to inform and educate others about renewable technologies. Students in this studio will create experiences that enrich our understanding of scientific principles, renewable technologies, and complex systems by designing their own virtual spaces. Students will conduct research into renewable technologies, study the evolution of green tech, and hear from guest speakers working within the energy industry. In the end, students will create projects that use VR to tell stories, educate others, and realize the potential of fossil-fuel alternatives.

Health Devices

As medical technology improves, applications shift from treatment and recovery to early detection and prevention - oftentimes via medical devices. Medical devices vary in both their intended use and indications for use. In this studio, students will explore means of measuring vital signs and detecting strains on the human body through advanced modeling and programming skills to synthesize their findings and design a medical device that allows users the autonomy and capability to measure their health status.

Stop Motion Animation

Students will create a Personal Service Announcement (PSA) about a social issue they care about using Stop-Motion Animation. Diving into all aspects of stop-motion techniques, students will learn the analog beginnings of flip-book animation; how to work with multiple art materials to represent their ideas; and techniques of filming and editing in digital software. 

 Re-Entry Housing

Mass incarceration is a major issue that disproportionately threatens black and brown communities. Recidivism, the rate at which people are rearrested after being released from prison, is extremely high. In this studio, we will partner with The Ahimsa Collective (based in Oakland, CA) to develop a permanent tiny home community for formerly incarcerated individuals, providing these returning citizens with a long-term nurturing, safe and healing environment to help ease their transition back into society.

Designing for this clientele means that we have to examine the prison system, to further understand how to ethically design a reentry system for them. We will learn about the historical implications of the prison system through watching documentaries, reading articles and excerpts from books, as well as through first-hand interviews with our client, which we will apply to our design of a tiny home community. 

We are writing to you with details on our Winter 2022 Session 1 Studios. Below, you will find a brief summary of our studio offerings. 

Peace Building

In this studio, students will learn about the key aspects of peacebuilding in relation to culture, dignity, and collective identities. This studio will run in collaboration with Euphrates a peace-building organization. Students will conduct in-depth interviews with peace leaders around the globe and design devices that can be used as a vehicle to spark conversations, create dialogue,  and raise awareness of the experience of the “other”.

Emotobots

As artificial intelligence permeates more facets of our daily lives, our interactions become increasingly digitized, abstracted, and depersonalized. This studio will explore the emotive possibility of digital companionship. Students will design a smart object using the household object of a lamp. Just as electrical lighting technology altered people's lives historically and allowed them to extend daylight hours for work, reading etc, our goal will be to imagine how the light can once again be a vehicle for altering the lives of those around them.

Foodio

Throughout history, food and culture have shaped one another through availability, trade, migration, and globalization. Food Narratives is a storytelling and data visualization studio in which students will explore historical and contemporary issues around culture, accessibility, immigration, and supply chains. Students will design culinary experiences that illustrate and flavor the broader context of current issues, how they came to be, and what they mean for the future of food through delicious interactive elements!

Time to Relate

In this studio, students will embark on an electric journey to debunk the mysteries of physical computing. Students will learn exciting ways to create digital solutions and interactive objects. Students will learn the basics of electronics, deconstruct and reconstruct everyday electronics, examine the process and cycle of electronics, and take a deep dive into the culture of open-source communities and the expansibility of DIY projects.

We are writing to you with details on our Fall 2022 Session 1 Studios. Below, you will find a brief summary of our studio offerings. 

Making Sense of Design 

In this studio, students will explore memories and the artifacts that manifest their memories in order to create devices that communicate and share formative personal stories of the past. Structurally, the studio will be partitioned into three modules, each one week in length. Part I will give students the opportunity to dissect and analyze found objects with unknown histories, unveiling a complex understanding of the artifact through technical representation and creative storytelling. In Part II, students will utilize these newly developed design skills to interpret abstract understandings of short stories and personal narratives, resulting in a series of moodboards, drawings, material studies, and crafted 3D models. Finally, in Part III, students will synthesize their understanding of the creative process through the design and fabrication of a “memory vessel,” a device that embodies and ritualizes a past experience.

Computing in the Community 1.0

In this studio, students will consider the role they play in their communities at several levels and will develop mobile/web applications that target a community-specific goal that leverages their role as a student in a digitally connected ecosystem. Throughout this studio, students will investigate and discuss precedents in a range of community-oriented topics: urban planning, community initiatives, civil budgets, etc. Students will seek to understand what technical interventions exist within this space and how they can create projects which advance community projects using the web. 

Adaptive Play

In this studio, students will study how the art of play impacts the way children develop necessary physical and cognitive skills in order to develop Montessori Method-inspired toys that grow alongside the child and adapt in their playability to promote sustainable practices. Students will engage in an accelerated iterative design process inspired by the partnership NuVu has with the Cambridge Montessori School by engaging in focus group interviews and revisiting for user playtesting of prototypes. As a final product, these toy designers will develop not only fully-fledged prototypes but also accurate plans for the manufacture and scalability of their toys. 

NuVu 2022-2023 Curriculum

We are excited to be announcing the upcoming studios for the 2022-2023 school year! This year we have adapted core themes and skills that these studios will focus on throughout the session. This will allow for the students to have a better understanding of applying the learned skills to real world applications.

Core Themes and Skills

When designing each studio, a theme is paired with a particular set of skills. Over the course of the year, each student will have opportunities to explore a range of the themes and skills listed above. Some studios will be focused on introducing new skills and ideas, while others will be more focused on application of past knowledge. Many studios will involve partnerships with local people and organizations, allowing students to learn from experts and create solutions that address the needs of specific clients. In each studio, a theme from the list above is paired with a particular set of skills:

Fall 2022 Studios

During the fall trimester, studios will explore areas that include urban planning & green space development, educational toy design, health wearables and memory. The planned pairings of skills and themes for the fall studios are as follows:

Session 1 | September 8 - 30 

Foundations | Design Fundamentals through the lens of History, Identity & Culture

Computing in the Community | Computation & Logic through the lens of Civic Engagement

Upgraded Play | Engineering & Robotics through the lens of Sustainable Infrastructure & Systems

Session 2 | October 3 - 26

Soles for Souls | Research & Conceptualization through the lens of Civic Engagement

Health Sense | Fabrication & Visualization through the lens of Health & Well-being

Session 3 | October 27 - November 18 

Fall Open Innovation 

Daily School Schedule

Studios

At the heart of NuVu’s curriculum are studios, a series of 3-4 week immersive interdisciplinary projects. In a typical trimester, a student will participate in two different studios. Each trimester ends with an open innovation period during which students have the freedom to dig deeper into a topic of particular interest from earlier in the term.

Studios designed for younger students focus on developing foundational skills and creative confidence. As students learn to navigate open-ended problems, collaborate effectively, build empathy for others and communicate their ideas effectively using a variety of media, studios become more sophisticated. This process eventually prepares each student to complete a 12th grade Capstone Project on a topic of their choosing.

Each year, the NuVu team develops a new assortment of studios that connect with the relevant issues and challenges of our time.

Supplemental Coursework

In order to ensure that all NuVu students have a well-rounded foundation in traditional disciplines, we integrate supplemental coursework into the overall academic program. Two blocks per week are devoted to this work, allowing our students to take accredited academic courses through specialized online providers and with support from NuVu’s coaches.

NuVu’s academic advisors work with each student to craft a personalized multi-year plan based on that student’s particular academic goals. Most NuVu students apply to highly selective colleges, and our team ensures that those students have met all of the expectations to be very attractive candidates for acceptance at those institutions.

Sample Four-Year Supplemental Coursework:

• 9th: Geometry, English 9, Earth Science

• 10th: Algebra II, English 10, Biology

• 11th: Precalculus, English 11, Chemistry

• 12th: Calculus, English 12, Physics

Seminars & Workshops

Seminars meet once per week and last for an entire trimester. They cover topics where students have expressed particular interest. Through reading, writing and discussion, seminars allow NuVu students to explore topics that extend and inform each year’s studios.

Each week, NuVu also offers a variety of standalone hour-long workshops. Some workshops focus more on technical skills, and students have opportunities to improve in areas like perspective drawing and circuit design. Other workshops allow NuVu coaches to share their knowledge about topics ranging from logical fallacies to financial literacy.

Foundation

Focus: Design Fundamentals

Studio Name: To Begin With

Design is everywhere. We observe and encounter design during every moment of our daily lives: the objects we interact with, the spaces where we live, work, and play, the landscapes that surround us, the transportation systems that help us move, the communication systems we use, the streets and cities we navigate. In this studio, students will learn foundational design principles and technical skills to unweave and weave back together an understanding of a human-made artifact and dwelling that tells a unique story of why and how it was created.

Structurally, the studio will be partitioned into three modules. Part I, will give students the opportunity to dissect and analyze artifacts of personal significance, unveiling an understanding of the artifact through both a technological and anthropological lens. In Part II, students will utilize these newly developed design skills to interpret and abstract formal understandings of poetry, resulting in a series of photos, drawings, material studies, and crafted 3D models. The third and final portion of the studio will allow students to synthesize their understanding of the creative process through the design and fabrication of a board game. 

Cumulatively, the studio will assemble a collection of each students’ work that bridges design principles to poetic concepts, resulting in both 3D exhibit pieces as well as a printed portfolio of their work that can be used as a design process reference in future NuVu studios.

Intermediate 

Focus: Experimental Design

Studio Name: Innovate to Activate

Everywhere we go, we have hundreds if not thousands of interactions with our environment and each other. We take in facial expressions, advertisements, sensory information, even the layout of the spaces we occupy - and use all of this information to consciously and subconsciously move throughout the world. As designers, we can make intentional decisions to guide how people perceive information and encourage certain behaviors. Particularly now, after a year of minimal public interaction, we have a ripe opportunity to redirect people towards a positive, generative, caring relationship with the space around them.

In this studio, students will explore the public spaces and resources in our Cambridge community, and map out the intricacies of how people interact with them. We will use this data to identify and design for a specific element of our community in order to highlight and amplify the wealth of culture and resources available - whether that be the public library, small businesses, or the diverse needs and interests of the people in this city. We will conduct interviews, test our work, and ultimately build interactive physical installations that address the above in a compelling and accessible way.

Intermediate

Focus: Digital Media and Virtual Reality 

Studio Name: Revolutionary Spaces

In this studio students will explore virtual and augmented reality workflows in order to create new avenues of learning. As a class we will conduct a series of exercises that reinforce NuVu’s learn-by-doing approach. Inspired in part by our shift to remote learning during the covid-19 pandemic and in order to leverage our technological privileges to create more equitable learning experiences, we will be exploring virtual reality as an educational tool. 

At the start of the studio, students will learn about  collaborative VR learning, communication, and effective research techniques. In the style of Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History, students will identify potential areas of research. Nuvu students will work in partnership with local museums and libraries and select historical topics to research. In creating these projects, the students will seek to understand what stories and events from the past require a shift in our prior thinking. 

Students will follow through on these collaborative designs using VR creation, and storytelling. Once the worlds have been built, students will further the projects through scripting. They will draw on game design and educational strategies including puzzles, experimentation, and mindfulness in order to achieve the most effective project. Finally students will present their projects to an audience of their peers, collecting data and feedback in order to deconstruct and analyze the effectiveness of their tools.

Advanced 

Concentration: Spatial Derivatives 

Focus: Architecture

Studio Name: When Movement Creates Environment

“The body moving through space in time is a central experience of both architecture and dance.” Throughout history both disciplines have used space as a vehicle for creative interpretation. Architects anticipate the choreography of a person’s path through space, while in dance a choreographer prescribes the space in which the body moves. Both disciplines provide an aesthetic quality to its medium, architecture provides it to human habitation and dance provides it to human movement. Looking back to the etymology of the word Choreography we will find that it is derived from the ancient Greek word Khôra, which has been described by philosophers such as Plato as a ‘receptacle or space’ a form that gives space. 

In this concentration students will have an immersive experience, exploring how architecture and dance influence one another, and how we all have the capacity to become dancers in the way we engage with our built environment.Through a series of studies, students will investigate the harmonious connection between the body and the built form ,using movement as a means of studying body and space relationship, and  utilizing choreography as a vehicle for design investigation.

In the first studio, students will learn about architecture principles through the lens of dance, using dance spatial concepts to inform the architecture of space, where the body is the soul active agent to create spaces. Students will engage in a series of movement classes and use their new body intelligence to express their ideas. The outcome of this studio is an installation designed through choreographic compositions in response to each student’s chosen social/cultural issue, which then is translated into material and form. This studio will be taught in collaboration with Emily Beattie, a choreographer, performer, and educator based in Massachusetts. Emily’s work explores the relationships between souls, space, time, and technology.

In the second studio, students will explore the dynamic relationship between participants and the built environment through moving from the notion of Place to Taking place, thinking about their installation when witnessed in presence of participants,exploring how their installation can shift and evolve to become a dynamic and immersive experience,where participants can actively engage and mark their presence. Through this process students will learn about interaction design and Biosensors. This studio will tentatively be taught in collaboration with Kristin Neidlinger, a biomedia designer, founder of SENSOREE – her work explores bio-responsive fashion to promote extimacy, externalized intimacy. With a background in dance, design, and in physical therapies as a Dance Medicine Specialist.

Session 1 Studio Placements

Intermediate I - Walk for a Cause: Footwear for Inclusivity

Intermediate II - Product Design: Futuring, Story, Play

Advanced I - Designing AR Toys: Scalable products for the holiday season

Advanced II - Procedural VFX