A day of Presentations

In the morning, we had to present our co-working research. Although I was nervous about speaking in front of my class, the presentation went well. If we had more time to rehearse, I wouldn't have been afraid. However, I created cue cards to help me in case I went off track. I found the presentation task beneficial as I now know what co-working spaces are and the type of facilities they possess. It's interesting to see the different design approach each company takes and how they cater to the people who use the space.

In the afternoon, we had a guest speaker in from Formica. Formica is a hard, durable plastic laminate used for worktops, cupboard doors and other surfaces. Laminate is created in a variety of colours, textures and finishes. Formica produces a range of laminate with different qualities. There are several different densities of Formica. Thin laminate which has a depth of 0.7mm is decorative. It is single-sided and requires bonding to a substrate. This type of Formica is poor in humid areas so is mostly found in offices on desks. Another example is a thick laminate which varies from 2 mm to 20 mm. It is self-supporting, has a double-sided design and is structurally stable. It can be used in moist areas and doesn't break in shards suggesting that it would be appropriate for prisons. Formica is a widely used plastic; it was fascinating to learn about the material and its various characteristics. The lecturer provided samples of laminate and kindly let us keep them. I am delighted as I can use the fragments to create physical mood boards. I asked the guest speaker if Formica could be recycled. She revealed that the company attempts to be sustainable in the process of creating Formica (by reducing the amount of carbon used and recycling materials). Although laminate is also very durable so won't need replacing often, Formica itself cannot be recycled. I will likely use Formica in my Special Studies module as a result of this presentation. I believe that the material works well in an office environment. If I don't utilise Formica in this project, the information provided was valuable for future modules. I enjoyed today's sessions as I felt like I gained a lot of research which will support my current module.