It was legendary American husband and wife design duo, Ray and Charles Eames, who coined the concept ‘curious problem solvers’, and it has become the lightning rod that helps fire the Design and Technology (D&T) department at Newington every day.  

Creators of the iconic Eames chair, their legacy of providing design solutions to problems, has assisted and inspired our 2025 class of 27 students in Timber design and four in Design and Technology, says Mr Joe Glover, Assistant Head of Technology.  

The outcome is an impressive array of innovative product ideas and unique furniture pieces and objects that will be exhibited in the 2025 HSC Technology Showcase on Friday 19 September.  

‘All good human-centred design comes down to two things, curiosity and empathy. How do we create curious problem solvers who can solve problems that have nothing to do with themselves,’ says Mr Glover. 

‘Many parents unfamiliar with where D&T or Timber sits today might see their child considering taking the subject as an elective in Year 11 and 12 and think, oh I don’t want my child to become a carpenter. But Technology subjects today are far from that.’ 

Indeed, says Mr Glover, in this digital age, neuroscientists are increasingly interested in the cognitive and emotional benefits of students working with their hands, as well as the positive knock-on benefits in helping reduce anxiety and improve memory and attention. 

A former architect and maker working alongside other professional designers and makers across the department, Mr Glover says Technology subjects help students improve creativity and tackle problems by engaging their critical thinking skills.  

‘Design and Technology is about looking at a problem, putting yourself in the shoes of the person experiencing the problem, and then addressing it through design by arriving at a solution that solves that problem.’ 

‘Likewise, in Timber we use woodwork as the vehicle to teach all sorts of communication, interpersonal and social skills. These include having the perseverance and resilience to fail at something several times before you succeed and learning how to respond to that challenge. Also, we know that our hands are simply an extension of our brains, so when we do things with our hands, we experience the importance of tactile learning to utilise our critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which involves a lot of spatial and conceptual thinking.’ 

This year’s Year 12 Design and Technology students have created projects to address real world problems. One boarder from NSW’s Riverina has designed a portable physiotherapist office transported via a ute tray, to address the shortage of medical professionals in regional and rural Australia. Another student has designed a foldable student housing pod, easily upscaleable and assembled throughout empty CBD office spaces, to help combat the lack of student housing. 

‘Each of our DT students identified a genuine need that means a lot to them and came up with a tangible solution to try and fix that problem so, each project is very different,’ says Mr Glover.  

Likewise, there is huge range in Year 12’s timber works this year. 

‘We have pieces inspired by modernist Italian designers such as Paolo Buffa, Indigenous inspired works, modern Scandi oak desks, surfboard racks and bathroom vanities. This is our biggest year yet with 27 students across three classes, so everyone is drawing on different inspirations.’ 

Mr Glover says the uptick in interest in D&T and Timber is also enjoying a renaissance across lower years at Newington with twelve classes across Years 8, 9 and 10. 

‘We have excellent teachers and over the past few years we have all worked exceptionally hard to create engaging courses which are challenging, fun and rewarding, and do what we want them to do in terms of helping produce resilient, perseverant and creative students.’

The Year 12 showcase opens at Concordia Friday 19 September at 5.30pm and all are welcome.  

‘Each finished project is an outcome of each student’s thoughts and ideas; what went wrong, how they fixed it, how they overcame those challenges to complete what was without a doubt the biggest project most of them have ever completed in their lives. They should all be very proud.’