BY GABRIELLE EGAN

Backward thinking:

The process of this assessment was challenging, however, it taught me a range of new skills which allowed me to leap out of my comfort zone.  Initially, I didn’t know anything about the Bay’s Precinct or its redesign.  I also wasn’t particularly interested in redesigning Rozelle Bay as it was such a small area of Sydney, that seemed relatively unknown meaning its redesign wouldn't have much impact.  However, the process of the project proved me wrong, showing that I had to gain a global perspective, and go far beyond the Bay’s Precinct to discover how to make Rozelle Bay a highly liveable place.  This global view was adopted after weeks of research.   Surveys and interviews were conducted to consult the public and Real Estate experts, and Secondary Research was conducted to solidify the results from Primary Research, and to find sources from around the world that could assist us (my group).   This research was then the foundation to every other component of the task (e.g the essay, presentation, badge activities). 

Inward thinking:

In regards to the final result of the project, I had mixed feelings about the work that my group and I produced.  The project had a wide variety of components and I can’t say that I was completely happy with everything that I produced and if given the opportunity to do this task again, I would change my approach to some parts of it.   A key part of my work that I would like to improve is being able to provide deeper analysis and explanations.  This was determined through feedback from the report component of the task, which showed that the lack of analysis and justification for the project undermined claims that were being made in the text.  For example, in the 3rd paragraph of the report, it was said "the history of the area is also being maintained" however there was a failure to provide an explanation as to how this was being done.  If more thought had been put into which claims we would make, the report would have been a lot more clear and accurate in terms of communicating what our area aimed to acheive.   In saying this, I still felt proud that all of the work was completed and on time, and I'm especially proud of how we managed to work as a team and how we presented ourselves on the presentation night.  In particular, I think the best aspects of the group project were the concept board and the presentation.  The concept board, because none of the people in our group did design technology and had to gain new skills (i.e taught ourselves to use Google Sketch-Up basically and choosing swatches and textures to put on the board) to produce the board.  The presentation, because we took feedback from the report to improve how we communicated our ideas during the presentation, which resulted in the presentation running smoothly and focusing on key points of our area.

Outward thinking:

My perceptions of my work and my group’s work completely changed when we saw the approaches that other groups took.  Although I understood that our approaches were different due to our areas being different, it was interesting to see what others prioritised in their areas to increase liveability.  For example, White Bay Power Station wanted to increase their liveability by turning their area into a technology hub and in turn, having no residencies.  The justification behind this, was to introduce a new attraction within the Bay's Precinct, whilst also maintaining livebaility by not overcrowding the area with residencies.  In contrast, our group prioritised residencies and had (I think) the highest apartment buildings out of all the groups.  Similarly, other groups were surprised with how we approached creating residencies in our area by building apartments that were over 20 stories tall.  

What was important from this, was that we all communicated these ideas in group discussions throughout the course of the project, so we were able to maintain a consistency throughout the Bay's Precinct.

Forward thinking/Conclusion:

This task has improved my knowledge of the concept of  liveablility, through the project giving me new skills in research, design and formulating new ideas.  This isn't the only thing I've gained from the project, it has given me a new-found appreciation for designers, builders, entrepreneurs and accelerators who work in the real world.  I say this because the task was difficult as there were so many considerations to balance.  The task itself inspired everyone in the class to be innovative and that's a skill we're all going to need if we want to make any impact in today's society.  In saying this, the project wasn't perfect, the process was sometimes messy and the due dates seemed impossible at times.  It seemed at times there were too many things to complete at once (i.e the badges being due all at once instead of having their due dates staggered).  These 'flaws' in the project, however, were what made us work harder and more persistently.