“Utopia Project” (PART A)
“YOO-TOH-PEE-A”
Definition: A utopia is an imagined community or community that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its citizens.
What is this project?
The Utopia Project is a project that the Year 7s of All Saints College have been working on in Term 3. We wanted to make the Fremantle Port area a liveable space and build a community for all people to thrive in, as the current Fremantle Port will be relocated in Kwinana. Mrs. Lockwood is a consultant who studies infrastructure and planning development. She is the person who organised this project to come true, as originally, we weren’t going to redesign a place that actually exists. She wanted to help us redesign the new Fremantle Port for Innovat[ED] this term. Mrs. Lockwood also wanted to know what we wanted it to look like, as we are the future and we are going to be the generation living in the time when it is going to be ready and built. We decided to work on this project, as it would be good opportunity to help contribute with the future in Fremantle. It was also good to give us a real-life project that is actually going to happen in the future, and that would make it more exciting for us as we get more engaged.
The outside of the shipping container model. The plants at the top is the green roof and the circles with dots are the aboriginal dot paintings that are going to be painted the wall. 
The inside of one of the shipping container resort rooms. You can see a bed, bedside drawers, a TV on the wall, a bathroom with a shower and other small models.
What have I learnt throughout the project?
During the Utopia Project, I learnt lots of things such as planning, group work while creating a major project. First of all, I learnt about the Fremantle Port itself. I learnt that the Fremantle Port was going to be moved, and that is why we are creating a space that all people can thrive in. I knew that there would be loads of shipping containers left over, since they have hundreds just sitting there, so I thought, why waste them? Why waste them, when you can make it into a hotel that still reminds you about Fremantle Port and still gives vibes of the old culture? I learnt the importance of taking your time to produce good planning and how important it is to consider that we only have a small amount of space, so we need to use it well. I remember when we were choosing where the shipping container resort was going to be located, that we couldn’t have the resort facing out to the sea, as it could be too windy. We didn’t want it right in the middle of the area, as that can also be in the way of all the other surroundings, so it was a hard decision on where we should locate it. In terms of sustainability, how and why it is important. Overall, I learnt lots of things regarding planning, collaboration and presentation, aswell as learning lots of interesting facts about the Fremantle Port.
ASC Capabilities
Collaboration
Collaboration played a very important role during the Utopia Project. By experience, I have found that using good collaboration skills when you are working in groups really helps bring the group together and minimizes arguing. You can notice that a group is using good collaboration skills when you can see every single group member working on something, no one is sitting there, doing nothing. I have learnt that working with group members you don’t really know, actually makes you work more productively. Collaboration will help me with skills in life, as when I get a job, I will most likely be working with colleagues, so I need to collaborate with them in order for myself and others to thrive.
Creative
At the early stages of this project, when we were first writing down all of our ideas onto a brainstorm, I remember writing everything that came into my mind. Creativity can really come in handy when you are doing schoolwork, especially if you have to redesign a whole area. My creativity came in handy when we were deciding where we should locate the shipping container resort, as I had to think where the best place would be suitable for the type of building that we are creating. I demonstrated my creativity when we had to decide where to locate the shipping container resort, as the location had to fit all of the requirements. Creativity will help me a lot one day, as when I buy a house, for example, I need to be creative where to put the furniture and make everything look nice in its place.
Leadership
Without someone taking leadership in your group, your group will not work efficiently and some things will probably fail. The leader of the group needs to make sure that your team gets your work checked by the teacher, as you want to see if you are on the right track so that just in case if we were doing something wrong, we could fix it easily without having to start all over again. I have learnt that when someone in your group takes leadership, your group goes a lot further. Leadership will help me later in life, as some jobs require you to be a leader in your role, for everything to run smoothly and for your job to thrive.
A speaker giving us ideas about the Shipping Container Resort and helping us improve and expand our thinking skills. 
My group and I presenting our final product and our vision board, with the speech. Parents and guests came to listen to us and our idea.
UN Global Goals
I learnt so much about Global Goals during this major project. Before we started this, I didn’t even know what global goals were! But throughout the project, I learnt how important they are, and why we need to include them. The global goals we used were; affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, clean water and sanitation and climate action.
Affordable and Clean Energy
We wanted to make the Shipping Container Resort affordable for all kinds of people. We wanted to have energy that is sustainable, such as solar panels on top of the buildings (reception, storage room, etc), as they have a huge impact on the environment when it comes to clean energy. I have learnt that having solar panels is a much more affordable and efficient way to have clean energy.
Sustainable cities and communities
The Shipping Container Resort has to be sustainable, in order for it to be liveable. We want to use as little energy as possible, and we want to make sure that the customers are aware that the resort is good for the environment. We also want to build a nice community around in the new Fremantle region. I learnt that reusing things (eg. shipping containers) is very good for the environment because we don’t have to use fresh resources when we can just recycle them, since they probably aren’t going to get used again!
Clean water and sanitation
We want to make sure that the water is sustainable, recycled and clean as people need to shower, drink, swim, etc. We also want to make sure that people stay clean and the cleaners go around the rooms everyday to make sure germs don’t spread around, especially as we are in a paramedic at the moment. I have discovered that recycled water makes a huge impact on the environment, as Australia saves a lot more water when people use recycled water.
Climate action
As we all know at the moment, our Earth is starting to get polluted, and we need to do something about it. My group decided, if we are going to have something like a shipping container resort, we have to make sure it doesn’t pollute the air, the floor, the area, etc in any type of way. So we came up with a couple ideas to help that, such as solar panels, using less water and way more ideas that don’t effect the environment and that are helping the Earth. The things I have learnt about Global Goal Climate Action is that even a small amount of care for the environment can really help with the pollution.
Vision Boards
Our vision board was created to give the guests an idea on what our project was about. The photos on the vision board represented our main idea, the shipping container resort. We had to make the photos relevant to our idea, as we didn’t want to throw random photos on and expect people to know what they mean. For example, we couldn’t just put a random tree that we found on the internet on our vision board, we had to put on an Australian tree. Same things go for plants too, we had to put (for example) a kangaroo paw and not a random bush. The photos were separated into sections, to get a better understanding of the project and to connect well with the idea of this project. We wanted to make sure the guests weren’t confused with our idea, so the photos on the vision board supported our idea of the whole project. I have learnt that it is much easier to see what your idea is when you have something to look at.
Overall, Project Utopia was to give us a real-life project to expand and improve our thinking skills. I think it was a great idea as it helped us get a better understanding on what it is like when working on a project that is going to come true one day. In the future, all of the Year 7s in ASC can look back on the final product and be reminded of Term 3 and all of the fun that we had. I learnt so much during Project Utopia. I have learnt to cooperate with group members, expand my creativity to the next level and realise that doing a whole term’s project requires a lot of skill and patience. Because of this project, I can use these skills later on in life to help me gain confidence when finding a job. I am looking forward to the future with the new Fremantle redesign and can’t wait to see the final product in the upcoming years.