Transformation Design: Community Building West 18th St. Studios

Team Community Building West 18th Street Studios

Team Members: Liz Kuehnen, Brenda McManus, Julian Rehani, and Nefeli Stavrindi

Transformation Design | Pratt MFA | Fall 2010 | Jean Brennan & Gala Narezo

Problem: Community Building West 18th St. Studios

Look for Needs, Not Solutions

1. Photo Ethnographic Study

2. Interviews

Iterate to Refine the Findings.Survey 1 _ to cold and abstract. Included the MS and MFA students and faculty= Ineffective.

1. We need to be more personal/hands on, in our approach to research.

2. Clarification/education about what the roles are of two programs and their necessity

to the larger world of design.

3. Cultural Differences. Socially accepted norms, Language, Behaviors

4. Demographics. Individuals in different life stages and levels of experience.

5. Geography. The physical layout of the space.

6. Reality. We are all grad students. Time, Course Work Deadlines, Stress.

Reframe the researchSurvey 2 _ more personal and focused on MFA students only = Effective.

Create Needs Statement

StatementBased off of our ethnographic research, we discovered a need for a strategic

and calculated intervention using the common language of design to unify the

space and allow for opportunities of interaction between all students in the

West 18th studio space.

Classify and prioritize the needs.1. A common language/vocabulary that engages rather than segregate.

2. A neutral location that has no geographical barriers.

3. More personal interaction between the individuals in the space.

4. Create a greater awareness of the similarities we as students share.

5. Create a greater network for later opportunities.

Inspiration

Proposed Ideas

Proposed Ideas and Solutions1. List serve

2. Plants for each student

3. Business card collection

4. Bathroom mural

5. Collage

6. Play dough perceptions

7. Paper clips sculpture

Solution

SolutionsBased off of our ethnographic research, we discovered a need for a strategic

and calculated intervention using the common language of design to unify

the space and allow for opportunities of interaction between all students in

the West 18th studio space. Focusing on our shared needs of an inspirational

space for ideation and design development, we decided to create small

pockets of creative opportunities for exploration, brainstorming and problem

solving through the usage of common studio tools, such as push pins, post-it,

paperclips, string, rubber bands, etc. We structured these opportunities using

our shared language of design by breaking down each station through the

following design principles of ideation and experimentation.

Experimentation (Wall of Play)Location: Open Space Wall

Materials: Push pins, String, Found materials, Paper clips, Post-it notes,

rubber bands, Play dough

Idea: The value of experimentation can never be underestimated. With

the white walls in the studio currently under utilized, we saw an opportunity.

Our intent is to take advantage of the space by creating an environment for

students to work in a more collaborative, expressive and playful manner.

Using everyday items such as rubber bands, push-pins, string, paper clips, etc.

our intent is to provide individuals with a public space to experiment. It is our

hope that individuals will begin to interact and add on to the various playful

constellations that will reside on the wall. The anonymous nature of the process

will hopefully make the process intriguing.

the white wall. a designers stage for displaying process,connections, observations and expriments. who doesn’t like to experiment? take a chance? play? isn’t that why we are here? to make connections? collaborate? challenge ourselves. well? here’s your big chance. make a move. use whatever material your heart desires. give us something to react to. who knows, it may even be fun. it may even relieve some stress. open your mind to new possibilites. inspire. engage. or even encourage someone else to take a chance. what are you waiting for? you know you want to play. go for it...

Ideation (Wall of Thought)Location: Bathroom

Material: Post-it notes

Idea: The bathroom is the ultimate shared public space; it is also a space that

has a long history of “creative” writing and thoughts. We decided to play up

on the idea of bathroom secrets and create an opportunity for people to write

questions, comments, thoughts, secrets, or illustrate ideas within the privacy

of the space. We created an interactive wall in the main entrance space using

post-it notes to create a colorful message of “Do Not Write On The Walls”. We

all know nothing creates a greater urge than being told you can’t! The post-it

notes are intended to expand beyond the wall into the privacy of the stalls, the

ceiling, mirrors, etc… It is our hope that the space transforms into a colorful,

inspirational outlet for all students.

(*Mens room will be explored in our second phase)

Oops...

Do Over...

the bathroom. a shared space with a long history of “creative” writing. got questions? got comments? thoughts? secrets? feel like expressing your thoughts with a doodle? an illustration? care to see what others think? care to inspire others? or be inspired? of course you do. nobody’s around, there’s nothing but blank canvases just screaming for you to interact. the wall even says “do not write on walls” but, it certainly doesn’t say you can’t write on the post-its. think about it. go ahead. we dare you. take out your pen. give us your thoughts. rebel and write. you know you want to...

ConclusionWe developed a social network by creating a context, which provides an opportunity for

community growth in a transparent manner. Our main concern was with the interactive use

of space, not as a forced intent of functionality but rather, a grass roots “want” to interact.

We consolidated our solution to Ideation and Experimentation. By providing the form and

context we allow for the content to develop as a natural progression of social behavior.

We were interested in exploring the concept of public vs private interaction. This led to

our decision to transform the bathroom into a platform for ideation and play. It serves as

a space to voice the individuals concerns about the reserved nature of our “creative”

environment. Playful comments were mixed with critical statements as post-its traveled from

the public domain to the private stalls. The bathroom transformed from a sterile environment

to a colorful active forum of dialogue.

The public wall of experimentation remained more reserved than we hoped. Our analysis

is that the space is still perceived as a private project rather than a public experiment. Slowly

new additions began to develop, in time it is our hope that more individuals will begin to

engage. We decided to merge the informational wall of business cards and menus, in hopes

that individuals will realize this is a public forum not just a private investigation.

We feel our solution has the possibility to evolve and easily relocate. Our usage of everyday

office supplies coupled with public/private spaces allows for a template that could easily be

replicated in another environment.

Transformation Design | Pratt MFA | Fall 2010 | Team Project

Liz Kuehnen | Brenda McManus | Julian Rehani | Nefeli Stavrindi