The proof of the pudding is in the eating

Twice a year the Technical University Eindhoven organises a design project education workshop, called the sPectacle, for 300 first year architecture students. The workshop assignment requires an unconventional use of materials for a design task. The workshop's goal is to explore the limits of the application of materials when applied to a design. The workshop starts with an inspiring introduction in which a designer demonstrates an unusual application of materials. After the introduction, the materials and the assignment are given out, the characteristics of the materials are investigated and the students work on their first ideas and models. Next, like-minded people are put together in groups of three or four students. The groups plan a design using the materials they have been given at a scale of 1:1, and prepare themselves for the fun of building the designs themselves. On day three, the designs are built with simple tools in a large space. Under pressure, the most fantastic structures are created. A jury judges the results and tests the built prototypes. Sometimes, the students need to test their ingenious designs themselves. An example of this is an emergency shelter made by the students, in which the students were expected to sleep for one night during winter. "The proof of the pudding is in the eating!".