Our team: Nasraa Al Busaidi Hammam Alabdulla Claire Batalona Gabby Klein Weilong Wu
INT 465 Design-Build Studio | Spring 2020 The Design School - ASU Building Blocks: Journey to Success Milagros Zingoni Bradley Cantin Maria Delasotta
Special thanks to: Mesa Arts Center ASID + WELL ASU Herberger Institute Lowell Elementary School + Mr. Short’s 6th Grade Class
contents community engagement
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research
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site analysis
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conceptual design
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schematic design
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design development
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construction drawings
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fabrication
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marketing
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impact
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meet the team
Gabby Phoenix, AZ, U.S.
Claire O’ahu, HI, U.S.
Weilong Kunming, China
Nasraa Muscat, Oman
Hammam Doha, Qatar
community engagement
Without community engagement, there is little potential for successful design.
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BUILDING BLOCKS: JOURNEY TO SUCCESS
This project places community engagement at the forefront of the design process. Each phase circles back to this concept, emphasizing the critical relationship between the designers and end users, and therefore the relationships within and between communities. Without community engagement, there is little possibility for successful design.
Our team visited Lowell Elementary School in Mesa, AZ to interact with the 6th grade class. In the several weeks of activities with the students, we began to learn about the unique characteristics that each individual contributed to their class’ community. Our interactions encouraged further connection between students and team members, and helped to guide our conceptual development throughout the course of the project. In getting to know our client and end user, our team developed and strengthened our value of empathy and considerations of universal design.
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community engagement | activities activity 1 In order to learn about the students, they were asked to write and draw answers to several questions pertaining to their individual characteristics, as well as their cultural background.
activity 2 Family and culture were two categories that were prominent in the students’ answers in the first activity, so the second activity helped to further explore what components make up “a day with my family” or “a cultural celebration” through writing and drawing.
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activity 3 The students discussed and wrote down ideas specific to their community and their individual aspirations. These answers were centered around group activities, family, and future goals.
activity 4 The students were asked to draw their answer to the question: “What is meaningful to you within your community?� Their responses were centered around common themes including sports, flags, nature, art, and technology.
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community engagement | data collection
Scottsdale, AZ
Mesa, AZ
United States
demographics
According to data from the United States Census Bureau, the city of Mesa, AZ represents a microcosm of the country as a whole. However, Scottsdale, AZ presents a much different data set. The diversity between these two local cities offered a unique challenge in considering universal, interactive, and accessible design within the installation.
Data and Graphics from the United States Census Bureau
In the A4 Stakeholder Analysis, the team discussed the installation with the students in terms of Actors, Activities, Artifacts, and Atmosphere. The data gathered from this activity helped to guide the conceptual development for the structure, based on who would be interacting with it and what they would be doing within and around it.
A4 analysis
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actors
activities
artifacts
atmosphere
families kids adults people animals pets
eat stand rest play converse create
chairs tables light food water phones
happy relaxed warm cool windy comfortable
BUILDING BLOCKS: JOURNEY TO SUCCESS
community engagement | student visit to ASU Towards the end of the fabrication phase, the students from Lowell and Porter Elementary Schools came to ASU to learn about to learn about early college preparation and to see the work they had inspired. The students responded with excitement upon touring the Workshop at the Design School and seeing the structures. Having that type of interaction with the client was incredibly rewarding.
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research
“the WELL Building Standard is the premier standard for buildings, interior spaces and communities seeking to implement, validate and measure features that support and advance human health and wellness.” International WELL Building Institute, 2019
To better understand the user interaction that would take place at the WELL Conference in Scottsdale, the team researched aspects of the WELL Standard that could be integrated within the installation design. The WELL Building Standard, created by the International WELL Building Institute, “is the premier standard for buildings, interior spaces and communities seeking to implement, validate and measure features that support and advance human health and wellness” (2019). Although many concepts of the standard were relevant, the two that the installation highlights are Community and Movement.
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BUILDING BLOCKS: JOURNEY TO SUCCESS
research | WELL concepts Community The WELL v2 concept, Community, focuses on “establishing an inclusive, integrated community through social equity, civic engagement and accessible design” (WELL 2019). With the research and engagement between the team and the students, the final structure aims to offer a flexible and inclusive space for a variety of users. Heights of surfaces and arches take into consideration the needs of people of all ages and levels of required accessibility. The structure offers a space for individuals to gather, share, and connect, coming together to form a community.
Movement The WELL v2 concept, Movement, “promotes movement, physical activity and active living and discourages sedentary behaviors” through programmatic design (WELL 2019). The research behind this concept shows great health risks connected to high levels of inactivity, especially in adolescents and elderly individuals. Within the team’s structure, users are encouraged to sit, stand, and move freely. Mobile stools allow for reconfiguration of seating and even offer a platform for standing. The tabletop surface as well as the counter height surface offer multiple postures for sitting or standing while alone or with others. The structure supports the user need for activity, while simultaneously offering a space to rest between activities.
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site analysis
site analysis | Mesa Artspace Lofts Mesa, AZ: the site of the Mesa Prototyping Festival in the heart of Mesa, Arizona, adjacent to the Mesa Artspace Lofts. The festival is centered around the concept of local community, bringing families and individuals together from the surrounding neighborhoods.
site plan not to scale
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BUILDING BLOCKS: JOURNEY TO SUCCESS
site analysis | Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Scottsdale, AZ: the site of The WELL Conference in the heart of Scottsdale, Arizona, at the Hotel Fairmont Scottsdale Princess. The conference is centered around the concept of global community, bringing people together from around the world, all with an interest in wellness in design.
site plan not to scale
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conceptual design
conceptual design | logo + branding
embrace community LOGO TYPE
BRAND GUIDELINES
CONCEPT PHILOSOPHY The space we have constructed is intended to offer activity, engagement, and discussion for people of all backgrounds. It is a space to gather, share, and connect, the same way a community does. We were inspired by the cultural complexities of the students and their connections to family, friends, and traditions. It is these individual characteristics that contribute to such integrative and unique collections of people, and the commonalities of space and time allow us to form communities with those around us.
TYPOGRAPHY FONT: GRAVITY
AB
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
CONCEPT COLORS
SHAPE MOTIF
#6CBF58 #264B5D
#EDC819 #264B5D
#E78224 #264B5D
#65B6CA #264B5D
#E5E5E5 #636464
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BUILDING BLOCKS: JOURNEY TO SUCCESS
conceptual design | vinyl graphics
The colors for the team logo were influenced by the colors incorporated in the WELL Conference branding, and the simplicity of shape was influenced by that of the City of Mesa’s logo. The team logo incorporates themes of diversity, connection, and gathering, all of which would be represented in the final installation. The shape motif (below) is an abstraction of the commonalities in the students’ drawings (above) of meaningful community components. These shapes, along with the letters ‘WELL’ were to be cut from black vinyl and adhered to the mobile stools in the installation. The graphics help to connect the communities of both Mesa and Scottsdale through shared experience.
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schematic design
schematic design | conceptual models
The team created several study models using simple materials to further explore how ‘community’ might be represented as an inhabitable structure. These models considered early discussion with the students, as well as team members’ own ideas of community.
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BUILDING BLOCKS: JOURNEY TO SUCCESS
From the initial study models, the team chose to focus on three ideals of community interaction: gathering, sharing, and connecting. Two prototype study models were designed to incorporate these ideals, one with a socio-fugal approach (seating facing outward) and one with a socio-petal approach (seating facing inward).
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schematic design | model development
The study model with the sociopetal approach offered a way for users to interact with one another while interacting with the structure itself. The early prototype included options for seating as well as a partition of stiff, kraft paper tubes. The tubes would display the students’ responses to the goal setting/community activity.
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BUILDING BLOCKS: JOURNEY TO SUCCESS
In the final prototype, the layout of fixed elements is refined, and mobile cube stools are introduced as an additional means of flexibility within the structure. The pvc pipe integration has been simplified, offering a visual representation of the connection between diverse elements in a community.
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design development
design development | collage
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BUILDING BLOCKS: JOURNEY TO SUCCESS
design development | mock-ups
b The collage (a) is a representation of the structure on the site of the Mesa Prototyping Festival. The stool mock-ups (b) show the vinyl graphic layout on each side of the mobile cube stools. With four stools total, each would have a letter of ‘WELL’ on one side, and the shape graphic on the parallel side. The color of the letter on each cube would match that of the edge paint color. The description plaque (c) includes a project summary, and would be cut from vinyl and adhered to the structure.
c EMBRACE COMMUNITY
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construction drawings
construction drawings | axon rendering
The construction drawing set notes the assembly of the structure, including the materiality, construction of individual components, as well as connection details. This set allows for a better understanding of how the installation is put together and what parts are needed to maintain its structural integrity.
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construction drawings | components
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fabrication
fabrication | timeline
creating cut sheets for the plywood assembling the base
sanding the panels for the stools unloading and cutting wood
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BUILDING BLOCKS: JOURNEY TO SUCCESS
assembling the stools
assembling the arch and pvc tubes sanding. cleaning, paint details, and final touches
gluing and placing the kraft paper tubes
sealing all surfaces
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marketing
marketing | studio logo + communications
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BUILDING BLOCKS: JOURNEY TO SUCCESS
The team’s graphic designer also designed the logo (left) for the studio project as a whole. This logo incorporates elements from each of the five building blocks and their logos. This logo and branding can be found on the studio t-shirt (bottom right), the poster for the WELL Conference (below) and the community invitation (right) .
Building Blocks: Journey to Sucess
Building Blocks: Journey to Success is a design- build studio funded by Mesa Arts Center and The WELL Conference + ASID.
The purpose of this project is to continue the conversation on how to establish a compatibility between design and the built environment, academia and community, theory and practice, and learning and playing. All these, while looking at complex relations that connect interdisciplinary fields related to Building Blocks to Being Well. The studio will be organized as blocks, and each component will contribute to a kit of parts. Twenty five senior students in Interior Design at Arizona State University worked with 130 6th graders from two Title I schools from the Mesa School District. Together they explored notions about the following: Learn Culture: Acquire knowledge Create and Play: Explore ideas, bring to life Heal to Grow: Overcome Physical and Emotional obstacles Embrace Community: Reflect and express on who we are Experience our surroundings, find connections Live and Enjoy: Appreciate an enriched experience
Building Blocks to Success The Spring 2020 interior design senior studio invites you to join us and our Building Blocks to consider the integration of wellness between design and the built environment, academia and community, theory and practice, and learning and playing.
Saturday March 21 12pm - 8pm Mesa Artspace Lofts 155 S Hibbert, Mesa, AZ 85210 sponsored by the Mesa Arts Center | WELL + ASID in partnership with Lowell and Porter Elementary Schools
Each of these concepts were asked to be designed and fabricated within an 8x8x8 cube that could be transported in a truck and be assembled and disassembled for the Mesa Prototyping Festival III in downtown Mesa and for the WELL Conference at the Princess Fairmont Hotel. This project has three main goals: To expose underrepresented youth in design disciplines to design and design thinking while demystifying college for many of them. To expose the interior design students to the development of empathy and to project the voices of those often unheard through design. Engage attendees at both events in an interactive- crowdsourcing way.
Learn Culture
Acquire knowledge
Explore ideas, bring to life
Heal to Grow
Create + Play
Overcome physical and emotional obstacles
Experience surroundings, find connections
Embrace Community
Live + Enjoy Appreciate an enriched experience
Sponsors: Mesa Arts Center, The WELL Conference + ASID ASU Faculty: Milagros Zingoni, Maria Delasotta, Bradley Cantin
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impact
impact | team reflection After four years of designing hypothetical spaces for hypothetical clients, the designbuild was an opportunity to progress through a project in real time, for a real client. Not only was this client real, they were incredibly unique. The 6th grade students at Lowell Elementary School brought such thoughtful input to the discussion on community, and the installation would not be what it was without them. The opportunity to showcase our final structure at the Mesa Prototyping Festival and the WELL Conference pushed us to expand our concept of the end user, something that had not been considered to the same extent in previous projects. As students we have learned Revit, we have learned Sketchup, we have learned the phases of a design project, we have learned how to draw details, we have learned the levels of drywall finish, and so much more. But one skill that this project exceeded in teaching us was empathy. Empathy is the belt that holds all the tools in place and keeps them functioning well. Without it, the tools would stand alone, with no purpose beyond task-oriented design. This project was the best possible transition into our careers as designers, and will serve to strengthen our existing skills long beyond the end of the semester. Gabby Klein
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BUILDING BLOCKS: JOURNEY TO SUCCESS
Our team is so diverse and international that this topic allowed us to dig deep on what community meant for each and every one of us and share those ideas with the amazing children at Lowell Elementary. As the future global citizens, to realize that no matter where we’re from, what differences we have, we all breathe the same air and are part of a global community. Where, for a community to stand upright, each person plays a vital role in it, just like our model, in our project each piece, from pocket screw to PVC elbow, each connection symbolizes what constitutes an important role in a community, no matter how small or big. All are parts of a whole that come together to make it function. To allow different community activities to take place, to share, gather and connect with one another. I really look forward to graduating and taking all that I have learned at the ASU Design school to go on and create functional, well-designed communities, wherever they may be. Hammam Alabdulla
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impact | team reflection Reflecting on my last semester of Installation Studio 2020, the building blocks project has transferred from physical to online. Through the processes, I was not expecting the process went though like this. From the beginning of this project, although we have some trouble, we appreciate everything we have reached so far. Thanks everyone in my team! We all learn from each other, getting to know each other better, like we said from the beginning, we are so different and unique, it’s a great experience for me to work with a team like this, I bet there is no second chance like this! Studio 2020 has been a maniacal journey, to say the least. It is one that will trump all of the other challenges that I’ve faced in my years of education. When there was a call for order, there was nothing but disorder causing chaos and confusion yet, my team found a way to meld and transition to overcome the challenges. I want to thank the children we had the privilege to get to know throughout this process because they’ve inspired me most of all. Although they’re unable to fully experience the project we created for them, I hope they’ll be able to see the impact they made on our design. This experience has given me a greater understanding of timing, teamwork, and communication. As unique individuals with different talents and expectations, we were able to collaborate across different countries, timezones, and working platforms to accomplish our goal. The good news is – we made it happen! Claire Batalona
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Based on the COVID19 everything has changed so far, and I must end my U.S college life earlier than usual. It was very unfortunate that we cannot show our creation through the semester, but I believe everything happens for a reason, this might be another way for us to learn and to express. Weilong Wu
They say the unexpected happens to the strongest because they can cope with it! Reflecting on my journey at Installation Studio 2020 from introducing the building blocks project to transitioning online I learned many things. When we were assigned the project I did not expect it to be such a great experience and found it to be irrelevant with Interior Design. Now, at the end, I realized how much I have learned during the process and the importance of it. Collaborating with the kids and my team taught me the importance of listening and being empathetic. While designing and fabricating the installation taught me that all details matter and the value of teamwork. Collaborating with other students and Installation design has been a transforming project in my school journey. It was very unfortunate with COVID19 we could not share what we have created in real life however with all the challenges this experience helped me thrive and learn how to think out of the box. Nasraa Al Busaidi
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