Design An Underwater Home

Course Overview

As sea levels rise, how might architecture adapt? In this exciting two-day holiday camp, students step into the shoes of Ocean Pioneers to dive into future-focused design. Participants will take on the ultimate architectural challenge: conceptualizing and creating innovative, sustainable underwater homes anchored deep beneath the waves.

Curated and led by DesignTinkers' passionate team of experienced educators, architects, and designers, this camp provides a spacious, conducive classroom environment where children can create and explore freely under expert guidance. By blending science, engineering, and design thinking, students will discover how architecture can transform one of Earth's most extreme and hostile environments into a thriving underwater sanctuary.

Course Content

Over this intensive two-day studio experience, students will take their ideas from raw imagination to structural reality:

Day 1: Conceptualization & Foundational 3D Prototyping

• The Mission Begins: Students map out their futuristic underwater dwellings through conceptual sketching, planning interior spatial layouts and living quarters.
• Life Support Integration: Young designers must problem-solve how their structures will generate fresh air, secure renewable power, and sustain food supplies in a deep-sea environment where sunlight may never reach.
• Building Up: Students transition their 2D layout drawings into physical, tangible 3D models using professional model-making materials.

Day 2: Detailing, Structural Reinforcement & Refinement

• Engineering Functionality: The focus shifts to making the underwater colonies truly operational. Students build upon their Day 1 prototypes by adding critical infrastructure, such as lift towers for surface access and specialized food catchments for long-term survival.
• Withstanding the Depths: Students explore structural engineering concepts to add necessary reinforcements, ensuring their futuristic models can metaphorically withstand deep-sea water pressure.
• Final Polish: Detailing and completing the architectural models, ensuring every design choice made is intentional and grounded in big-picture design thinking.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this 2-day camp, students will:

• Understand the fundamentals of architectural design progression, moving successfully from a 2D layout plan to a 3D prototype.
• Apply design thinking to solve complex, real-world environmental and spatial challenges.
• Gain a basic understanding of structural engineering, learning how to design structures that factor in accessibility, survival systems, and extreme environmental durability.
• Grow in creative confidence, spatial awareness, and fine-motor model-making skills.

Teaching Methods

Our camps utilize a Hands-On, Project-Based Experiential Learning framework. Rather than following predictable step-by-step instruction manuals, students are presented with an open-ended design brief. Instructors act as architectural mentors, guiding students through experimentation, trial, error, and refinement. This encourages active problem-solving, intentional decision-making, and critical thinking in a fun, engaging, and highly supportive studio setting.

Prerequisites

No prior experience in drawing, crafting, or architecture is required! This camp is open to all imaginative beginners with a curious mind and a love for building.

Promotions:

Enjoy a 10% Early Bird discount for Holiday Camps in July when you sign up by 14 June 2026! Reach out to our Education Consultant to enjoy the discount!

Important Notes Inclusions:

The camp price includes all model-making materials, daily lunch, and 2x snacks.

What to Bring:

Please bring a jacket (classrooms are comfortably air-conditioned) and a personal water bottle.

📱Stay connected with us on the go!

Download the Agora Parents App to receive live updates from teachers and the Agora team. Simply search "Agora Parents" on the App Store or Google Play, or use the links below:

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