Research in Design

In our last few classes of the semester, we discussed ethics in research.  I believe a huge ethical dillema in the design profession, if the lack of design research to support design work.  In the conclusion and recommendations section of my term research paper I commented:

It is recommended that research courses be implemented into interior design undergraduate programs to promote primary research studies.  This implementation could inspire research professions in design and begin development for the much needed guidelines and standards for research in design. The industry needs to support and encourage research to protect and enhance the health, life safety, and welfare of the public

This research did not successfully attain it goals to reveal potential omissions in our interior design professional standards, raise awareness for educators and students, and highlight the importance of continuing education for the whole industry.  However, further investigations are warranted and necessary to fulfill the ethical responsibility to not only protect but also enhance the health, life safety, and welfare of the public. 

Although, I was unable to attain definitive results from my research, I believe the study helped to inform the process for design research.  Check back with the blog this summer for the beginning of a discussion about guidelines for design research.

Parklets

The last stop on the Path is 33rd street, which drops you off right in the heart of the herald square.  I've been walking through the herald square 'parklet' on my way to work almost everyday since I relocated to New York in June.  I never really thought about the 'success' of this parklet until tasked with visiting the site for class.  What makes a parklet successful? What really makes a parklet different than any other park?  I wondered as I ran through the parkelt on my commute. When I took a bit more time to sit and take advantage of this parklet, I noticed a few characteristics:
Crowds-there seem to be quite a lot of people that run through this area everday just like me.  There didn't seem to be a commonality in those that sat and those that just ran by.  Although I have always noticed that there always seem to be more people gathering around these parklets, its a though route to take for those commuters just interested in getting from one point to another.  As a commuter in the morning, I have become use to the dodge and weave game.  I find myself easily annoyed at the tourist that just stop in front of Macys to take a look as I try to plow through. 
The Seated-There always seem to be less people sitting in the morning than during the afternoon commute.  It was a Friday at rush hour when I deciced to stop and take advantage of the parklet.  I noticed immediately, how many people seemed to be waiting.  Only a few had coffee or food or seemed to be set up for a long visit.  A lot of visitors seemed to be watching people just like I was or seemed to be waiting for someone else.
The parket stucture-The parklet is designated with potted plants and painted concrete pavement.  Benches, chairs, and tables some with umbrella are scattered throughout the strectch of parklet.  The chairs seem to travel, being relocated to different spaces depending on thier need.  There is a bike path designated but commuting crowds seem to be using  the bike path more than bikers.  The commuting walkers seem to seek out an uncrowded path for walking not covered with scafolding or chairs.  A lot of chairs were pushed up against planting walls lining the bike path.  Most of these chairs and the adjacent benches were occupied with people.  Most of these people seemed to be alone, people-watching just like me.  The tables for the most part were either occupied with a single person that seemed like they were going to stay a while (with food or a book) or by multiple people convering,
The population-The types of people that occupied the parklet did not seem to fit one particular profile.  Although the children present seemed to be with tourist.  The groups of full families did not seem to be locals just enjoying their neighborhood park.

The images below show both the commuting crowds and the seated waiters on a Friday rushhour:

Overall, I would say that the Herald Square parklet is sucessful as a place for transient visitors and a wayfinding tool for outsiders. 
As I have been discovering New York over these past few months, I frequently have compared it to my former DC home.  Would a parklet work in DC?  Do parks even work in DC?  There seems to be far fewer people that need spaces like these in DC.  It is fairly easy to drive into DC and if you are seeking out a park to relax in you can easily visit the destination parks like the national mall or one of the squares. The parklets in NY seem necessary as there is just no place to sit and wait or relax for a minute or meet someone. I think spaces and places like this are important for this city but I don't know how relavant or useful they would be in a less crowded city where people drive.

A visit with Susan Szenasy

Last evening, we visited with Susan Szenasy, the editor and chief of metropolis magazine.  When Larry asked Susan when she first encountered sustainability, she said it was always a part of her life.  Susan told us about her childhood during the cold war and escape to the United States.  As she spoke, I wondered if my fellow classmates and other sustainability advocates had similar experiences.  Do we value sustainability because of an experience in our life that made sustainability inherent to us?  The generations to come have been said to be more sustainably minded.  I wonder what makes the coming generations more likely to be concerned, is it simply a raised awareness or has there been common experiences that would shape this reaction.   

We have been thinking all semester about how human behavior is the cause and hopefully the solution to our sustainability issues.   Like Design, I don’t think there is one solution for sustainability.  As Paul Hawken notes in ‘Blessed Unrest’, the sustainable movement is powerful because there is no one mission statement or one authority.  There cannot be one solution for all these wicked problems.

As the first semester in my master’s studies in ‘Interior Sustainable Environments’ comes to a close, I’ve been thinking about our process and journey thus far.  I believe we have all gone through quite a few phases and feelings of ‘anger’ and ‘depression’ and ‘desperation’.  Although insanely stressed about the workload I have to accomplish this next week,  I am happy to report that last night I think I reached a feeling of ‘content’.  Like every generation and society before us and every one that follows, we will have challenges but design gives us a real chance to address this really important challenge of sustainability.   Susan was right last night when she said design is powerful.  She was also right when she said  that a seemingly impossible challenge is an amazing opportunity for a new way of thinking.

Now I guess I am moving on to trying to prove the connection of how design can impact sustainable actions.   But for now, I leave you with two quotes from Susan’s speech “What Happened? Where Do We Go From Here?” :

“So the growing impact of these two sister movements, sustainability and accessibility, lead me to think that the English historian Arnold Toynbee might have been correct when he wrote that “The 20th century will be chiefly remembered by future generations not as an era of political conflicts or technological inventions but as an age in which human society dared to think of the welfare of the whole human race as a practical objective.”

The time is coming for building that road to a design that no longer needs to call itself “sustainable” or “universal”—just good, need-oriented, environmentally sensitive design. Just design. Design with justice at its core.”

Snow Day

Yesterday, our class weathered the storm and headed to the botanical gardens for a tour of a LEED platinum building.  I have worked on many LEED buildings and am pretty well versed in the process from the AEC prespective.  It was really nice to receive a tour from the building manager/user prespective.  Our tour guide seemed extremely proud of the building and excited to share it's story.  He brielfy mentioned thinking as a child that his father was silly for his backyard compost and caring about what got poured down the drain.  Now, he manages a building that recycles water and composts among other things.  Our tour guide seemed very invested in the sustainble success of the building  He mentioned that most of the users were proud of the building and accepted the positive sustainable attributes.  I wonder if it has impacted how the users act in the space and in their personal lives.  The tour guide also mentioned that he doesn't think 'you can force it (sustainability) down their (the users) throats.'  I wonder if he has seen any skeptics changed by their experience with the building.  I am contimplating doing research about how sustainable features in building impact user's actions.  As designers, we frequently make decisions to best fit our user's needs and shape shape to impact their experiences.  I wonder what kind of space shape and features can promote sustainable actions in users.

Violating Social Norms

So I have been having a bit of a problem violating social norms.  Mostly, I haven't been getting the responses I anticipated.  At first I was wondering if maybe it was because I  looked too naive but after reading Stephanie's blog, I am wondering if maybe its just NY.  Here are some of my experiences:

Please use revolving doors
I walked through the double doors at work, the ones with the signs posted asking us to use the revolving doors and nothing happened.  I walked right through, with an air of confidence and an 'I know exactly what I am doing' expression and I got nothing.  The guard didn't look at me.  People went about their business and no one followed me.  I wasn't too worried about the reaction I intended to receive but was very upset when I got no reaction.

Bagging Produce
Went to the grocery store and decided to ban the produce plastic bags.  We regularly bring our own bags to the grocery store but always bag up our produce by category just as everyone else does.  I thought about it and realized it was just a convenience and sort of a waste.   I don't really think this falls under the category of social norm but this simple change got a reaction so I thought I'd share.  I picked up apples and threw them right into my bag loose.  I did the same with grapefruit.  None of my fellow shoppers seemed bothered by my decision but when time came for check out the register lady seemed quite annoyed.  She gathered all of my produce up, categorized it to weigh, and put it in a plastic bag.  When I told her I didn't need the bag she said "well, they are all already in there" so I just took the bag.  I guess my attempt to be less wasteful kind of failed but at least I got a reaction.

Dog park
I pass by the dog park everyday on my walk to work.  I am very allergic to all animals with fur but I do love them.  I have to continually disappoint my boyfriend, Erik, every time he asks if we can get a dog.  Yes, he does know the answer and ask continually anyway.  So on our way home from OHNY tours, I asked him if he would like to go to the dog park.  He, of course, excitedly said yes.  We entered the gated area with obviously no dog of our own.  I looked around for reactions from dog owners as Erik talked to all the dogs.  There were only a few owners that afternoon but not a one of them seemed bothered by our visit.  We hung out for a while playing with other people's dogs and then left again obviously petless.  Unfortunately, not much came out of our violation other then a saddened Erik still longing for a 'pup pup.'

I am hoping to push the boundaries this coming week to see if I can get better reactions than I have been receiving.  I am thinking of doing a bit of experimenting to see if norm violations I made here in NY are more or less accepted in Harrisburg PA on a trip out there next weekend.  I am also thinking about having Erik commit some of the same violations I commit to see if he receives different reactions, being a male. 

These norm violations reminded me of a very specific memory from my semester abroad.  I arrived in Italy in January, a time very few tourist, other than American students, can be found in Florence.  I enjoyed a few month there before tourist season official began.  I remember a bright day right around Easter when I left for class to find the street crowded with outsiders bunched in groups pointing at the Duomo.  As I dodged the masses I remember being annoyed.  Later that same day, my friend and I were enjoying dinner at our favorite local pizza place, Nerone, when an I noticed a obviously American group in the front of the restaurant.  I remember a woman from the group, in a loud bothered tone asking the hostess how they didn't know when there would be a table available.  She wanted to know why they couldn't just make reservations.  "If we are going to wait then tell us where we can get a drink.  Can I at least get a beer."  I was mortified. I remember thinking, "this is why no one likes Americans.  I can't believe I am associated with people like this.  Italy is not Disney World and who in their right mind orders beer in Italy."

Violations of social norms are going to be different for every society and culture.  Social norms may be most obvious in areas where 'norm' is well defined for the everyone.  I doubt that American woman in Florence even knew how obnoxiously she was violating a Italian norm, even though at home her actions may have been acceptable.  I wonder if at home in America, she tells people she is Italian.

FIT MAPS

Map 1:

At the time I created this map, I did not have very much experience with FIT.  I knew the basics but was just starting to get an understanding of where I was.  The map is simply a basic outline of my understanding of FIT through my few experiences.

Map 2:
You can start to see in map two how my experiences at FIT have increased.  You can also begin to see how I have placed FIT in a context of the other experiences I have had around the school.

Map 3:
In map 3, I explored my sensory experiences.  Unlike the maps above, this map gives more insight into how I feel in some FIT spaces.

Annotated Bibliogrpahies

Module 3 annotated bibliographies are posted!