The members of the class design by thinking out-loud - developing form and purpose in their work - by playing with ideas in two formats: physically constructing 3D models and physically creating 2D plan views of the site.

In the 3D work, students cut out panels of different shapes and and tape them together into developing forms. They rebuild these forms, with the help of their teachers, as models in the virtual design space. In this space, their work can be approached on a larger scale, entered, and considered from within. A set of building modules are developed from the forms in each design concept. These modules are used by the students to continue to develop their thinking by working within the virtual space.

In the 2D work, on a printed plan of the building area, colored paper cutouts are made to sketch out the sites':

main buildings
other buildings
green areas, like parks and lawns
main pathways
main approaches and entranceways

Thinking in this way will help in developing a fuller inventory of attributes for these designs, and will help establish frameworks for conceptualizing and organizing their spaces.

This exploration takes form in the context of models provided to students for building both in real and virtual space. First, a limited set of building module sketches has been provided for students to work with in their virtual design space, giving them interesting initial experiences of building there. Second, examples are introduced of visionary building designs that have in the past expanded the scope of thinking about the range of forms human spaces might take. In both cases, the purpose of the models is to encourage development of personal vision, support thinking about the scope of what might be built, and establish a stimulating and nurturing inventive and aesthetic context.