I. OVERVIEW |
- The first part of class was spent on course evaluations.
- After, we discussed our semesters long project. “What we did was amazingly revolutionary and rather unheard of in these types of situations!”
- We got the attention of some pretty important people. Our work will be presented to Enterprise, who share an office with MASS Design Group.
II. DISCUSSION |
Way finding Groups (2)
- Observations -
- Biggest takeaway from signs is that they are exclusive to housing court – their branding backfired. People think there is nothing else out on that floor.
- People just went straight to the elevator and went to whatever floor and then they were lost.
- They had hub everyone went to which was the front desk. People only stand there for maybe 3 seconds.
- Privacy observation – The rotunda has an interesting acoustical effect where you can hear everything that people are saying on the other side. There is no privacy.
- Moving Forward –
- The next proposal is to have signs of the larger picture of the program outside of the elevators
- Plan next steps- To give each court their own color.
- Craft and permanent nature of the signs is important– the next steps are going towards something a little nicer looking.
- The next steps are to have a visual connection between the hub, the info desk, and other connections.
- Take Away -
- Human factors are important in designing and the shape of a building or the design may not be able to overcome these factors. Something has to be done for people as soon as they walk in the door.
- People already have their minds made up if they want to take the elevator or not. Is it important to change peoples’ behavior, or to design for what people are already doing?
Lawyer of the day
Group
- Observations –
- Took into consideration the height of the foldable walls
- What actually happened with them? A lawyer would just take a client over to the walls and stand and talk for a minute, negating the chairs - having the chairs as an obstacle.
- The lawyer of the day initiated if they were standing or sitting.
- Moving Forward –
- Have privacy booths on a couple floors to create privacy. Matching wall color is a design option.
- Considering the size and implementing maybe a shelf, etc. - maybe a more provocative graphic of the side.
- Maybe something that is more loose instead of geared only toward the lawyer for the day. There could be some overlap with the Separation Group.
- Take away -
- Peoples behavior are important to consider. How they interact with your design and how can you listen to their behavior and enhance and change your design.
- In designing, we have to ask “what does everyone want” and “what is the common ground?”
Separation Group
- Observations –
- Notice how people reacted to it. In Clerk’s Office waiting room, people turned chairs to create their own little pockets. To go further maybe there are smaller sections
- The divider somehow signaled people to think they can move around chairs.
- With the curtains on the benches in the hallway, it is giving people an appropriate sense of privacy – It gives people permission to treat the space differently.
- There is an issues of ownership – who is in charge of making sure these stay where they are supposed to be? Also, we don’t want to make more work for people who are already doing a lot of work. i.e custodial staff or general staff.
- On other floors, it seemed like there were a lot of people and it was more chaotic. On the floor with the dividers, it seemed that people were using it differently and the clusters created were more intentional, perhaps without even meaning to be.
- Moving Forward –
- For the dividers themselves the next steps were more structural. Material choice is important - More sturdy, etc.
- Make it more obvious that the people can arrange them. Maybe there is a sign?
- What if the curtains come out of the wall and people will be able to move them?
- Take Away –
- No one really knew that private conversations had to happen. Once they understood that, they really enjoyed it. How do you make the people know what these are for?
III. BIG TAKE AWAY |
- None of the interventions were way out of the realm of what they can achieve.
- We didn’t come in with flashy tech ideas that
- Get in the door, listen, and learn from the clients. We cannot come in and be ready to change everything. We have to listen and hear what their needs are.
- There is a process that happens during a “day in court” - what is it like to occupy the space? We should design for the whole process and make little interventions along the way to make the process easier.
- Important lesson- LISTEN to the client. CONSIDER the client.