Last year we were appointed to the Heart of Campus project at Glasgow Caledonian University. Our role in the project is twofold. Initially we designed and initiated a six-month research and creative consultation project, which aimed to uncover underlying issues and access the creative vision of staff and students alike. The creative consultation project comprised a number of events and activities including observation, field interviews and competitions. A unique blog formed a portal to the project and gathered this information in one easily accessible location. Due to the scale of the project the most important activities were a series of complex interlinked workshops with students and staff. The consultation was formally completed in late January and we have now moved onto our second role as interior designers where the information we gathered during the consultation stage has been invaluable.

The new spaces we are currently designing include a new student services mall and an innovative restaurant space for up to 500 dinners including a cinema and games space. Also included are significant conferencing facilities, exhibition space, learning spaces and an exciting landscape scheme. In a separate but linked commission we are revisiting the Saltire Centre with staff exploring ways to build up the success of the design, solve long standing issues and hopefully provide some new innovative spaces and means of delivering services. The first Stage should be completed by Summer 2014, with remaining stages coming online Summer 2015. Keep an eye on our blog and website for updates until then.

Earlier this year our environments team was appointed to generate designs for Liverpool University's Guild of Students. The Guild is an extraordinary space that comprises three linking buildings each from a very different architectural era. The project has hugely ambitious timescales and we did not have time to employ many of our usual research methods so we needed to think around the problem. The solution was to launch a controlled number of cultural probes. We have used cultural probes in the past and had mixed degrees of success. The quality of information is always excellent but there are often low returns. In this case we had a captive audience of Guild officers and employees so we knew we would get a great response. The probes designed contained tools to help participants map the type of atmospheric, emotional and practical geography they currently have and would like in future from their space. The probes also included narrative aids to help them pin point their aims and ambitions and character cards to help them to introduce their students to us. The results as always have been fascinating and invaluable in generating the scheme.

The University has an award-winning reputation as an Ecoversity and the designs that our team are generating and materials etc that we are specifying are strongly influenced by this. The spaces included in the scheme are: a new streetscape with access to the guild services/offices, a coffee shop, a bar, a multi-functional courtyard space including a refectory, bar/club space an performance space.

The project will be complete by March 2014. Keep an eye on our blog and website for updates until then.

Hearty congratulations to our clients at Regent’s University London (nee Regent’s College) who recently announced that they have achieved University status. In 2010 the University commissioned our environments and communications teams to restore their original Tate Library while refreshing an adjacent space, which despite being recently refurbished had become somewhat dated. The final design generated a range of informal group learning spaces. The new spaces have subsequently been a real success with students and the University now wish to build upon this by creating two new floors offering addition learning and IT spaces. Our designs for the spaces will be influenced by the feedback from the original scheme along with the new branding concept generated for the re-launch of Regent’s as a University.

We are truly delighted to announce that our project for City of Glasgow College has been nominated for a Scottish Design Award. The ceremony is at the end of May when we will be keeping our fingers firmly crossed. Click here if you would like to view the scheme.

During the summer/autumn of 2011 Val and Scott took to the road to catch up with old clients and projects, introduce Nomad to new people and present to groups in Universities across the UK on the concept of people/human/ user centered design. Last summer was a busy one with several jobs on site so we were largely stuck in the studio and had to curb our Nomadic inclinations. This summer we are planning a second road trip and already have several presentation/catch up visits scheduled in London, Manchester and Newcastle. If you are interested in our team visiting your university to find out more about Nomad or discuss your spaces, please drop us a line here and we will be happy to get back to you right away.

Learning environment guru and long-standing Nomad client Les Watson has been busy editing and writing a book about the design of new learning spaces. It includes contributions from architects, librarians, academics, designers and happily us! Les asked us to represent the interior designers experience and our chapter focuses on people centered design and how this along with issues of identity may impact upon the future geography of learning and working environments. The book is being published by Facet Publishing later this year, until then keep an eye on the blog/website for updates.

On the 28th of June 2013 we will be hosting a ‘Blooming Great Tea Party’ on behalf of Marie Curie Cancer Care. The event will take place in our Southside Studio and will be an all day drop-in event to ensure that as many people as possible have a chance of popping in.

With a Midsummer theme, all of us will be baking for the event and trying to convince everyone that attends to purchase our culinary masterpieces. In addition we will be selling cream teas served by Val and Scott along with one off prints of some of our graphic work and other activities (there will be prizes). Please do drop in if you are near, it’s our first BGTP and we want to get as many donations as possible. To keep up to date with our Tea Party, please visit our event blog where you can also contribute if you can’t make it but still want to donate.

Last year we advertised a interior design position and received hundreds of applications. After a great deal of CV screening and an enormous quantity of interviews we happened across Nathan Napier and are delighted to now be able to welcome him as the newest member of our Environments team.

Nathan has worked on a number of high profile projects in the past including The Hallion, an award winning private members club and The Rogue Bar and Restaurant, both in Edinburgh. He also collaborated with Estudio Marsical on the interior and industrial design for The Lighthouse in Glasgow. Nathan will be working in teams for a range of clients including, Glasgow Caledonian University and University of Liverpool Guild of Students and we are all really looking forward to his input.

We are still on the lookout for part time designers, technicians and researchers. If you are interested in getting involved please send an email to us at jobs@nomad-rdc.com