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February 05 Class Report – Mackenzie Kane
A.
Plans for next week:
§
Next Monday (Feb x)
the class will return to the Brooks Courthouse for a second time with a plan of
strategic methods of gathering information. This information can include pinch
points, photographs of impact areas, or paths of specific building users that
inform us to their experience within the building.
§
Photographs and
sketches from the visit will be placed on the class Google Drive folder for
accessibility
B.
Defining Strategic
Methods:
a.
Framing the Problem:
How do we define the problem that needs to be solved? Problems cannot be
appropriately or effectively solved without a full understanding of underlying
issues or forces at hand.
i. Marilyn Example: A client may ask for a
lot of windows, an architect’s job is to understand why they want that many
windows. Is it for sunlight? Blurring the lines between inside and outside? Do
they have kids they want to watch as they play in the yard?
b.
How do we Frame the
Problem?
i. Identifying all aspects of a problem
ii. Shaping and understanding relative
context
iii. Breaking larger problems down into
smaller, more approachable parts
iv. Defining challenges and possibilities
for solutions
v. Acknowledging criteria on which the
solution should be based
vi. Understanding similar problems and
solutions (precedents)
c.
Players /
Stakeholders: Who are the people who should be considered when framing the
problem?
i. Government
ii. Paul Burke and administrative
colleagues
iii. Lawyers
iv. Public
v. Money
vi. Defendant / Plaintiff
vii. Judges
viii.
Magistrates
ix. Security
x. Other courts
xi. Building
xii. Volunteers
B.
Day in the Life
Diagrams:
a.
Class breaks into 3
groups (landlord/tenants/ lawyers, court staff) and creates diagrams depicting
their process of arriving at court and their attempt at wayfinding / moving
about the building.
Group #1: Lawyers - Extracted Information:
- Questions of how/if lawyers meet with their clients (tenant or landlord) beforehand. Do they talk to the other side? Do they let their client know where to go in order to meet with them / Which court room to go to?
- Lawyers do not have to go through the process of security, so their experience is simplified and eliminates obstacles.
- There are two noted lawyers utilized in the courthouse, a hired lawyer to a specific landlord/tenant, or the lawyer of the day who reports to a folding table just outside the housing courtroom.
- Lawyers meet with their clients in the large hallway outside of the courtroom. This is non-discretionary and accumulates to a crowded mass of opposing forces.
- Question: Why don't they meet with their clients in the (2) small conference rooms just inside the first set of courtroom doors? If they are locked, why aren't they made available for use?
Group #2: Landlords/Tenants - Extracted Information:
- This group assumed the step-by-step process each individual landlord or tenant may experience when going to court.
- There are many parallels between the process of landlords moving through the space and tenants, however there are some points different moments of conflict as well
- A subconscious assumption when doing the landlord's "day in the life" was that they had been through the process before and knew what to do and where to go.
- Some points of conflict include security, the kiosk/message board, finding their way to the appropriate room, and the courtroom hallway.
- Sketch diagram depicts the uncomfortably close proximity of spaces of advising, waiting, and confrontation.
Group #3: Court Staff - Extracted Information:
- Floorplan diagrams developed to map different staff / users paths through the courtroom (including lawyers, security, Dept. of Deeds, Board of Bar, administration, public, etc.)
- The main atrium was used as a major "pinch point" and further investigation for the role it plays in how people move throughout the courthouse.
- This group not only recognized destinations of the above mentioned people, but also the manner in which they arrive there. Do they take the stairs? Which ones? Do they ever use the elevators?
- Circulation and points of necessary access are shown in order to further understand where people are going and which high-traffic areas may offer potential for further design-thinking.
- Convergence of paths and programs occurs in the main (empty) atrium. What could this mean for design opportunities?
This exercise allowed the class to not only attempt to put themselves in the shoes of the people attending housing court, but it helped to better understand the way this machine works. We could determine what joints aren't working and which gears are under the most pressure. After acknowledging the ways in which design-thinkers need to "Frame the Problem", analyzing all sides of the problem opened the doors necessary to have a pre-meditated plan of attack when re-visiting the courthouse. The topics discussed, questions asked, and thoughts provoked will allow us to better understand and analyze potential solutions knowing that we did our due diligence to fully understand the conflicts at hand and who is affected by them.