MFA thesis by khoi hoang

INTERIOR DESIGN AS A CATALYST FOR SOCIAL ACTIVISM:

CULTIVATING COLLECTIVE CHANGE FOR HIV/AIDS CAUSES THROUGH A MODERN MUSEUM CONTEXT. MAI KHOI HOANG

master of fine arts in interior design candidate

savannah college of art and design

spring 2011

Since the beginning of the epidemic, nearly 30 million people have died from AIDS related illnesses.

HIV is a virus. Viruses such as HIV cannot grow or reproduce on their own, they need to infect the cells of a living organism in order to replicate (make new copies of themselves). The human immune system usually finds and kills viruses fairly quickly, but HIV attacks the immune system itself - the very thing that would normally get rid of a virus. AIDS is a medical condition. A person is diagnosed with AIDS when their immune system is too weak to fight off infections. AIDS is caused by HIV. HIV is a virus that gradually attacks immune system cells. As HIV progressively damages these cells, the body becomes more vulnerable to infections, which it will have difficulty in fighting off. It is at the point of very advanced HIV infection that a person is said to have AIDS. It can be years before HIV has damaged the immune system enough for AIDS to develop.

HIV/AIDS

The first recording of AIDS in the United States was in March 1981, when doctors started seeing signs of Kaposi Sarcoma (KS) a rare form of benign cancer in healthy men throughout New York City. Also in the early 1980s, various reports began to emerge in California and New York of a small number of men who had been diagnosed with rare forms of cancer or pneumonia. The men were young and had previously been in relatively good health; with the only characteristic that connected them was that they were all homosexuals. This was the beginning of the publicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perception that gay men were responsible for the AIDS epidemic rather than victims, a distinction that makes it very important to raise the publicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s understanding of a highly dangerous misconception.

AIDS is reported among non-drug using women and children.

HIV enters the US.

AIDS is reported among hemophiliacs and Haitians in the U.S.

African doctors see a rise in opportunistic infections and wasting.

AIDS is reported in several European countries.

Western scientists and doctors remain ignorant of growing epidemic.

AZT is the first drug approved for treating AIDS. The UK and other countries act to raise awareness of AIDS.

Three thousand AIDS cases have been reported in the USA; one thousand have died.

Around 8 million people living with HIV worldwide, according to estimate.

Experts become more confident that the cause of AIDS is infectious.

AIDS is detected in California and New York.

An HIV test is licensed for screening blood supplies.

Infant HIV infections begin to fall in developed countries, due to use of AZT.

AIDS is found in China, and has therefore been seen in all regions of the world.

AZT is shown to be of no benefit to those in the early stages of HIV infection

The first cases are among gay men, then injecting drug users.

1970s

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1990

AZT is shown to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

More than 38,000 cases of AIDS have been reported from 85 countries. The name “AIDS” Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is created. Community organizations in the U.K. and U.S. promote safer sex among gay men. Spread of HIV/AIDS Science and Prevention Treatment Global Action National Action

Scientists identify HIV as the cause of AIDS.

Thailand launches Asia’s most extensive HIV prevention programme.

Uganda begins promoting sexual behavior change in response to AIDS.

Western scientist become aware that AIDS is widespread in parts of Africa. The world first needle exhange is set up in Amsterdam.

HIV/AIDS

1995

The Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS is established. The U.S. government conducts a national AIDS education campaign. Health ministers meet to discuss AIDS and establish a World AIDS Day.

AIDS drug become more affordable for developing countries.

AIDS death begin to decline in developed countries, due to the new drugs. Around 22 million people are living with HIV worldwide. Brazil is the first developing country to begin providing free combination treatment.

A controversial Swiss study claims peole adhering to ARVs have a “negligibly small” risk of transmitting HIV through unprotected sex.

The “3 by 5” campaign is launched to widen access to AIDS treatment.

Circumcision is shown to reduce HIV infection among heterosexual men.

The first HIV vaccine candidate to undergo a major trial is found to be ineffective.

28% of people in developing countries who need treatment for HIV are receiving it.

PEPFAR is reauthorized, committing 48 billion dollars for the next five years.

The U.S. South Korea, China and Namibia lift their travel bans for people living with HIV.

Michel Sidibe is named as new head of UNAIDS as Peter Piot steps down.

The CAPRISA 004 microbicide trial is hailed a success after results show the gel reduced the risk of HIV infection by 40%

At a UN Special Session, world leaders set long-term targets on HIV/AIDS.

1996

1997

2000

2002

Results from the iPrEX trial show a reduction in HIV acquisition among men who have sex with men taking PrEP.

2003

2004

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa voices support for AIDS dissents.

Combination antiretroviral treatment is shown to be highly effective against HIV. In developed countries, many people begin taking the new treatment. Annual global spending on AIDS in low and middle income countries is 300 million dollars.

The Global Fund is established to boost the response to AIDS, TB and malaria.

Annual global spending on AIDS in low and middle income countries is 8.9 billion dollars.

Botswana begins Africa’s first national AIDS treatment programme.

It is estimated that 14.9 billion dollars would be needed for a truly effective response.

America launches a major initiative called PEPFAR to combat AIDS worldwide. After much hesitancy, South Africa begins to prodie free antiretroviral treatment.

President Obama announces the removal of the travel ban that prevents HIV positive people from entering the U.S. 4 million people in developing and transitional countries are receiving treatment for HIV; 9.5 million are still in need of treatment.

Around 33 million people are living with HIV. Another major HIV vaccine trial is halted after preliminary results show no benefit.

WORLDWIDE AIDS STATISTICS

5,500

PEOPLE DIE FROM AIDS EVERYDAY

2.5 million children

HIV/AIDS

15.7 million women 15.3 million men

$10,000-$15,000 AVERAGE YEARLY COST OF MEDICATIONS

61% Male-to-male sexual contact 19% Injection drug use (IDU) 11% High-risk heterosexual contact 08% Male-to-male sexual contact and IDU 01% Other: Hemophilia, blood transfusion, perinatal exposure, etc.

because of these treatments

TODAY’S HOPE

AVERAGE LIFESPAN AFTER DIAGNOSIS HAS TRIPLED FROM 7 TO 24 YEARS.

1993 TODAY

S FACT SHEET AN ESTIMATED 1.1 MILLION AMERICANS HAVE HIV AND 20% ARE UNAWARE THAT THEY HAVE IT.

RATE OF AIDS CASES PER 100,000 PEOPLE

.1 to 5 5.1 to 10 10.1 to 15 15.1 to 20 20.1 to >20

TWO HIV INFECTIONS FOR EVERY ONE PERSON STARTING HIV TREATMENT IN 2010, RESEARCHERS AT CHARITE-UNIVERSITY MEDICINE-BERLIN TREATED AN HIV-INFECTED MAN WHO ALSO HAD ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA, A CANCER OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM, BY WIPING OUT HIS OWN IMMUNE SYSTEM WITH HIGH-DOSE CHEMOTHERAPY AND RADIATION AND GIVING HIM A STEM-CELL TRANSPLANT. THE PATIENT HAS SHOWN NO SIGNS OF HIV AND HIS IMMUNE SYSTEM HAS BEEN RESTORED TO NORMAL HEALTH.

ACTIVISM

Social activism has always played a role in increasing public awareness and influence public knowledge regarding issues dealing with healthcare, politics and public policies. Addressing the museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role in social activism will provide the trigger to identifying how a personal experience can endorse social activism through interior design, and what happens when the threshold of activism is crossed. Do the mechanisms that initially stimulated activism continue to exert influence beyond the recruitment stage? Or do other factors come into play? The importance of social activism lies in its ability to break down barriers and reform public opinion on major issues. For example, as the icon for the civil rights movement, Rosa Parks stood up for her beliefs. By refusing to take her seat at the back of that fateful bus ride, Ms. Parks helped to spark a nationwide movement for racial equality. If one person can be a catalyst for change, can interior design activate that potential? For each AIDS victim, there is a potential Rosa Parks, waiting in the line, willing to take their stand for social equality and understanding.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.â&#x20AC;? Herman Melville

ACT UP ACT UP IS A DIVERSE, NON-PARTISAN GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS UNITED IN ANGER AND COMMITTED TO DIRECT ACTION TO END THE AIDS CRISIS.

In March of 1987, ACT UP formed in New York City by a group of people as a diverse, nonpartisan group of individuals united in anger and committed to direct action to end the AIDS Crisis. We meet with government and health officials; we research and distribute the latest medical information. We protest and demonstrate; we are not silent. We challenge anyone who, by their actions or inaction, hinders the fight against AIDS. We challenge anyone who doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work for adequate funding or leadership for AIDS research, health care, or housing for people with AIDS; We challenge anyone who blocks the dissemination of life-saving information about safer sex, clean needles, and other AIDS prevention; We challenge anyone who encourages discrimination against people who are living with AIDS.

Case Study:

AIDS QUILT

June 1987, a group of strangers in San Francisco gathered to help memorialized the lives that were lost from AIDS. That was the beginning of the NAMES Project Memorial Quilt , the idea of the quilt was conceived by activist Cleve Jones while on a memorial march for San Franciscoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s supervisor Harvey Milk and mayor George Moscone. Before the march, Jones had people write the names of loved ones that were lost in the battle against AIDS, the sheer amount of names that were taped up resembled a quilt that covered the building on which it was hung on. Inspired by this image, Jones created a quilt in memoriam of his friend, Marvin Feldman. This was the first panel of the AIDS quilt. Due to the stigma of AIDs, many of its victims did not receive proper funeral rites due to many funeral homes refusing to accept them. Each panel; 3x6 feet in size is the same dimension as a grave, and symbolized the tombstone of the loved ones that people wanted to remember. Word of the quilt spread and soon, people from all major cities that were affected by the epidemic were sending supplies and sewing machines to the San Francisco workshop where the quilt panels were sewn. Homemade quilts also were sent by the hundreds to add onto the ever growing panel. On October 11, 1987, during a march for Lesbian and Gay rights, the Aids quilt was put on display for the first time at the National Mall in Washington D.C. What started as one panel was now 1,920 panels and covered a space that was larger than a football field. After that display, the quilt made a four-month, 20-city tour across the United States, and its success raised more than $500,000 for AIDS organizations. As the quilt made its way across the country, more panels were added and by the end of its run, the quilt had more than 6,000 panels. So successful and provoking was that in 1989 the AIDS quilt was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and remains the largest community art project to date. Parts of the quilt are on display all over the country, with more than 14 million visitors having seen it. Its effort has raised more than $3 million dollars to AIDs related causes.

INTERIOR DESIGN AS A CATALYST FOR SOCIAL ACTIVISM:

CULTIVATING COLLECTIVE CHANGE FOR HIV/AIDS CAUSES THROUGH A MODERN MUSEUM CONTEXT.

his thesis will explore the boundaries of how a personal experience can be a catalyst for social activism through interior design. Museums serve as the foundations upon which many find themselves amongst the human experience. Evaluating the relationship of the museum and its user through the lens of design will reveal the key to how interior design can influence and promote social activism. Can an intangible urge to positively influence an issue be answered with a tangible destination in the form of a museum? A cause with no bigger need is HIV/AIDS, and a museum experience that can educate, inform and motivate a user to the cause of HIV/AIDS awareness with engagement and action will be a prototype for designing museums with a cause. Through literature and research based design, the framework of the museum as a building form will be revised to further expound upon the knowledge of interaction within a museum. These findings will inform the exploration of the museum in a modern context, extrapolating the core concepts of the museum to form a new prototype of space. The reinterpreted museum space will serve as a foundation through which user experience defines the limit through which social responsibility can prosper.

the

MUSE

The word Museum, meaning “library, study” from the Greek word mouseion, the name derives its meaning from the muses. In mythology, the muses are protector of the arts, music, and poetry. They were considered the source of knowledge and ignited inspiration to artists and actors for thousands of years. For this museum to carry the name Muse is to ignite passion and inspiration for those who passes through its gates, to bring the muse once again back to the museum. Today’s art museums range in size and type from large, publicly financed institutions, like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to small, privately supported rural ones like the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art in Ridgefield, CN. Some, like Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, have encyclopedic collections; others, like the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, have highly specialized ones.

$65

$50

average amusement park ticket

average sport venue ticket*

one in three museums are free

$6 average museum ticket

30 years ago

97%

of museums offer some sort of discount

10-15 years ago

three in five people visit museums today

cultural institutions contribute

130

210

850 mil.

Museums had more annual visitors than amusement parks and sporting venues combined.

$166 BILLION dollars to the U.S economy annually

2.3 MILLION

VISITORS A DAY

17,500

MUSEUMS types of

IN THE U.S.

Americans that cited museums as among the most trustworthy sources of information.

Americans that cited that museums are trusworthy overall.

38%

Archaeology Art Botanical gardens History Maritime Military and war Mobile Natural history Open-air Specialized Virtual Zoological parks

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Through museums, visitors make tangible connections to their heritage, art, or the natural world regardless of their ages, the size of their communities, or their economic and ethnic backgrounds.â&#x20AC;? AAM

87%

611 YEARS

museums came to existence during the 14th century...

Trajectory: The exact nature of any visitor experience will vary considerably, even among those who enter with the same general identity-related motivations. These motivations, called a “trajectory” for the visit, with each basic motivational category having a characteristic trajectory. The trajectory is determined by the visitor’s motivation, and that motivation is highly influenced by the visitor’s knowledge and interests.

Explorers: attracted to the rare and unusual, they enjoy learning new things, and believe the museum can offer an interesting experience.

CONTEXT

Facilitators: users who are there to satisfy the needs of someone they care about, altruistic and defer their interest to those of their companion.

Experience seekers: The primary goal of experience seekers is to see the destination, building, and what’s iconic or important on display.

TRAJECTORY Professional/Hobbyist: most influential of the users, usually on a mission they take a very critical eye to the experience.

Rechargers: uses the experience to rejuvenate and reflect, they see the museum as an escape from the ordinary.

USER PERSONALITIES

THE MUSEUM USER EXPERIENCE

With millions of people visiting museums each year, the sheer quantity of visitors is another reason why the museum should influence the thinking of an audience that is ready to be engaged and challenged regarding major public issues, past or present. It should lay the groundwork that would ultimately advance the discussion about social relations or public agendas, such as HIV/AIDS activism.

Physical Context: Museums that take into considerations the use of color, texture and lighting in combination with a well defined user narrative will successfully gain the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention. The realities of the museum, in particular the exhibits and on display, the labels they read and narratives they listen to as well as programs they participate in all influence their experience. Generalization: The third stage, this is the stage in which the learner can translate new ideas and knowledge and place them in context. This is the stage of synthesis that allows museum learners to organize information into a framework or combine it with new information and create new knowledge and meaning and occurring when the learner creates personal meaning from what she has learned, forming new understanding or discoveries about her and or the world.

Precision: The next stage, in which the learner gathers information and absorbs it based on its relevance. This can occur through careful looking, reading labels, listening to a tour or lecture, or comparing objects that are arranged in the exhibition. Precision is the analytical phase of learning in museums, in which ideas become understood. It is the acquisition of information that discloses ideas with possibilities of significance. Romance: The enticement of the viewer, it is the heady moment of seduction that draws you in and makes you want to see and understand more. The Romance stage is learning is the process of discovery, curiously, and exploration. It includes the moments of trying things out, looking at a subject for the first time, and celebrating the new and the different.

STAGES OF LEARNING

Socio-cultural context: The museum environment itself is a socio-cultural one, all visitors, even those choosing to visit alone, find themselves quickly immersed in the socio-cultural milieu of other visitors. This socio-cultural mediation, direct or indirect plays a critical role in personalizing the visit experience for visitors, helping them learn and find meaning from museums. Much of what a visitor sees and does while in the museum is intertwined throughout a visitorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experiential narrative of a visit, so too are the social experiences.

COMMUNITY BASED SOCIAL MARKETING (CBSM) is a tool that companies and individuals utilize in their promotion of sustainable behaviors.

UNCOVER BARRIERS TO DESIRED BEHAVIOR

The first step is uncovering the barriers towards certain behavior: What is stopping someone from being an activist? Then, what could be the impact of the desired behavior? What good or bad can come from being an activist?

IDENTIFY TOOLS TO MODIFY BEHAVIOR

Community-based social marketing draws upon research in the social sciences, and particularly psychology, that has identified a variety of effective â&#x20AC;&#x153;toolsâ&#x20AC;? for promoting behavior change. These tools are often most effective when used in combination with one another.

APPLICATION OF STRATEGIES

Effectively piloting the program allow users to interact and make use of the designed program. Applying strategies allow for researchers to see what is or is not effective and make necessary changes to the design.

EVALUATE STRATEGIES Data gathering and feedback allows the program to be implimented in a timely fashion, enabling the response of the users to reflect the program allows flexibility in the program, ensuring long term success.

THREE-SITE USER EXPERIENCE

TOOLS OF BEHAVIOR CHANGE Commitment: The next step in the participant’s engagement in the desired activity, it is the key to capturing user’s attention and time. This step works by allowing each user to take their specific path towards a specific desired behavior. Each request often alters the way the users perceive themselves. They come to see themselves as examples of the type of person that would for example “buy products that have recycled content”. Humans have a strong desire to be consistent in other’s eyes. Society emphasizes consistency and people who are inconsistent are often viewed negatively. Prompts: Visual or auditory tools /reminders of when to perform certain activities. They remind users to carry out tasks that they might otherwise forget. Examples of prompts are signs above light switches or tags on keys. Prompts must be self-explanatory, and all of the information that a person needs to know must be concise and appropriate. Proximity of prompts are very important, for example placing a turn off light note near a light switch or on the bedside table allows action to be done conveniently. Using prompts can be very effective in promoting positive behavior and makes people feel positive about the task that they performed according to each prompt. Norms: CBSM utilize social-norms to influence the community that each person belongs to. Making use of personal contact to reinforce activities; Making it a goal of a group of friends to be more actively involved or hosting a fundraiser will develop an internalization of positive behaviors, a “its what we do” philosophy. Communications: Communications capitalize on attention as a persuasion, for without that, change is impossible. Communications must be vivid, iconic, personal and concrete. Communication must be developed with an audience in mind and understanding the mood and beliefs of each audience is crucial. Using a credible source or organization to present a message is highly important in the credibility of a behavior. CBSM warns against using threatening or doomsday messages. The user must understand the realistic consequence or facts that an issue face but positive action rather than negative consequence goes a long way in garnering attention.

THE POST-MUSEUM EXPERIENCE

In understanding CBSM, the new museum has a chance to not only engage each user while within its walls but extend its reach beyond it. A museum that responds to each user through varying experiences further compounds the internalization of positive actions is one that can withstand the test of time. This new model will revolutionize the form and approach of the new museum language.

THREE-SITE APPROACH The museum as a social and learning institution has impacted users on fundamental levels, and by deconstructing the user experience to three interconnected sites will build upon the potential of the effectiveness of the program as a catalyst for social activism. The sites will serve as a prompt, scattered throughout the city as a reminder to each user of the HIV/AIDS cause. Research has shown that ‘free-style” learning, where participants have control of the medium through which they absorb the information is most effective in retaining information and educating the viewers

Memorial architecture is to reflect the history within the space and translating it to the user. Evaluating the programming of previous museums would give further insights into their designs and how memorial architecture has respond to the emotion of each user. Daniel Liberskind noted the importance of that relationship through questioning the dialog between the architecture and experience â&#x20AC;&#x153;Can the construction of a contemporary architecture remain entirely distinct from even oblivious to the history it shelters? Its spatial existence ever really independent of its contents?â&#x20AC;? The study looked at 15 museums of various concentrations to explore their spatial experience and how that can inform the relationship between the experience and its user, and how that can be metamorphosed into a unique dialect of the museum language.

Case Study:

MUSEUM EXPERIENCE

Traditional: This prototypical is widely used in art museums, where the arrangement of gathering spaces is used as a precursor to the Individual spaces. The Individual spaces are far from the gathering spaces to provide quiet zones, these spaces are also programmed next to each other, offering little or no transition zone, this is so that galleries can be expanded and contracted if needed. The layout of these museums are widely used for art museums showing collections in clusters, they do not offer a narrative, the gallery spaces are usually arranged in period/movements. Professional/Hobbyists find the Traditional layout to be easily navigable and direct to their need of a museum that is frill-free and to the point. Rechargers are drawn towards the reflective nature of this layout, allowing them to escape from their busy day and immerse into another environment. Progressive: This arrangement offers users a journey, often used for museums with special programs and more interactive experience. It is more interactive than the Traditional plan, but less experiential than Interactive plan. This plan appeals to a wide range of users due to their compression and expansion-type layouts. Progressive layouts often contain a wide variety of art in differing mediums, therefore attracting all four types of users; explorers, facilitators, experience seekers, professional hobbyist and rechargers. . A non-polarizing experience affords the museum the flexibility to engage different users throughout the year, or for special events. Individual spaces are cushioned by gathering spaces that are used as buffers, often to provide the users a reflecting zone to gather and absorb information. Experiential: The third type of layout is used for a museum that offers a highly experiential narrative. Individual spaces are smaller and flanked by large interactive areas that focus on group learning. The user experience involves meandering through the museum with no set trajectory, but rather clusters. These clusters offer a shorter narrative, and doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessary tie in with the next cluster but all the exhibits lies under one theme, i.e. science museums offer aquariums alongside planetarium. These museums are larger, attract larger crowds and often offer services that the Traditional or Progressive cannot offer. Attracting explorers, facilitators and experience seekers for their highly interactive experience.

Isolated: The services are often not part of the main narrative; these zones are secondary to the museum experience, they are often located on another wing or level of the building. Users may have access to these services, but their absence does not detract from the main experience

Connected: The services are integrated into the main path of travel, often located at the beginning or the end of the experience to enhance the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s journey. These often have gift shops, guest services or cafĂŠs that offer respite from the main experience while complementing their services to cater to the needs of each user

Integrated: Refers to a program that situates its secondary services throughout the journey. A wide range of activities and services to choose from at any point in the experience, this allows for a highly immersive experience that engage the users in every activity. Highly effective for large groups and a wide range of users since each can pick and choose the services that will stimulate most without sacrificing functions.

transitional

st.louis contemporary museum

glaciarium-ice museum

moma-krakow

johnson museum of art

psiart museum

high museum

individual gathering Traditional Progressive Experiential Isolated Connected Integrated

contemporary jewish museum

holocaust museum

museum of aviation

ara pacis

crocker art museum

national gallery

arp museum

DESIGN

EXPLORATION

If the museum is a container of memories, how can the new museum be a container for the memories that will be, rather than that was? Through the years, the museum has been a vessel, a permanent container that overflows with the imbedded experiences of the past. Visitors come and go, and each receives the same message as the thousands before. Can the museum change? How can each user imprint his or her own memory into the space, be a participant in the museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creation and richness rather than respond to a message?

CONCEPT

1â&#x2C6;&#x2018;

The law of conservation of mass and energy states that energy cannot be lost, it changes forms and both the total mass and the total energy inside a completely closed system remains constant over time. In other words, energy cannot be created or destroyed, and energy, in all of its forms, has mass. Likewise, mass cannot be created or destroyed, and in all forms, has energy. When mass or energy disappears from a system; it will always be found that both have simply moved off to another place. The idea of energy being stored as potential energy ties closely in with design as a catalyst for activism. Users move through a space, which is filled with the inherent energy from information, facts, and data that are stored in the space. That harvested energy, internalized by each user is metamorphosized into the energy that enables each user to engage with the experience as an activist. The relationship of the energy being gained or exchanged is explored in three forms: Internal energy, physical transference, and humanityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s response.

∑m v

man and himself

In the first form of energy exchange, Internal Energy, the struggle is for balance inside each person. This energy is often seen in the duality of humanityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s struggle for balance between good/evil, mind versus body, human versus beast. This energy is more fluid, its ebb and flow is smooth but nonetheless impactful.

ZUCCOTTI PARK Sites were chosen based on their significance in line with AIDS activism and policy; the first site will correspond to the Inception stage of the programming. Located Near Trinity Church on Wall Street, the financial center of the world, Act Up gathered to protest the profiteering of pharmaceutical companies (especially Burroughs Wellcome, manufacturer of AZT). Seventeen people are arrested. Shortly after the demonstration, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announces it will shorten its drug approval process by two years. The north east corner of Zucotti Park, located near Trinity Church will be the first destination. Oriented along the intersection of Church and State ave. to maximize faรงade exposure to pedestrian traffic.

man and humanity

In the second form of energy exchange, the physical transference of energy, Energy Exerted, seen as a raw resource, draws its momentum from the struggle for power, understanding, equality. This energy is tumultuous, raw, and gruesome.

GREELEY SQUARE

The Second Site was chosen to demonstrate the significance of equal rights that underlines the Understanding portion of the program. Located near Greeley Square, in front of the headquarters of Northwest Orient Airlines, Act-Up again protested the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent refusal to seat a passenger with AIDS. This policy was later reversed. Utilizing the unique shape of the park and the pedestrian pathway that occurs at the corner of Avenue of Americas and Broadway, this site will have the most pedestrian foot traffic out of the three sites.

man and environment

In the third form of energy exchange, Humanityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Response to energy from the environment, the force acted upon each person from the world around them, the energy is unpredictable, and it is in many forms. The reactionary responses may be withdrawal, expansion, fractural, sublimation.

CITY HALL PARK The third and final branch in the journey of the museum symbolizes the Activism branch. Located in between the first and second site was home to ACT UP’s second anniversary protest which drew 3,000 to New York’s City Hall, making “Target City Hall” the largest AIDS activist demonstration to date. ACT UP protested the inadequacy of New York’s AIDS policy under Mayor Edward Koch. Unlike the previous sites, the private aspect of this location was chosen in alignment to the journey of an activist. The orientation of the site ensures that the façade faces City Hall, therefore reinforcing empowerment aspect of group action.

NYC 214,870 3 1

To bring inspiration to the user of Muse would be to appropriately locate the Museum in a location that will be consistent with the message that the Muse conveys. With a population of 214,870 thousand infected with HIV, New York City will serve as the host city for the Muse. The other important factor lies in New York City being the home base to many act of activism during the early 1980â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s through an organization called Act Up.

SAN JOSE 4,300 BIRMINGHAM 2,890 BUFFALO 2,789 CHICAGO 33,901 MADISON 582 ORLANDO 9,929 NEW HAVEN 4,987 OKC 2,533 SALT LAKE CITY 1,881 INDIANAPOLIS 4,227 KNOXVILLE 1,006 SACRAMENTO 4,446 COLUMBUS 3,636 KANSAS CITY 5357 WASH. DC. 36,328 CINCINNATI 3,145 N. ORLEANS 9860 SAN ANTONIO 5,597 PITTSBURGH 3,480 SAN FRAN. 44,002 CHARLOTTE 3,975 MIAMI 62,410 MEMPHIS 5,718 DES MOINES 597 ALBANY TAMPA HARTFORD CLEVELAND DAYTON HONOLULU PHIL. CHARLESTON

2,509 12,668 5,623 4,697 1,404 2,305 32,402 2,308

ALBUQUERQUE AUSTIN HARTFORD BOSTON RIVERSIDE LOUISVILLE DALLAS BATON ROUGE

1,565 5,318 5,623 14,827 9,861 2,689 22,220 4,476

NASHVILLE 364 BALTIMORE 23,571 LITTLE ROCK 1,576 ATLANTA 26,404 JACKSONVILLE 6,910 SAN DIEGO 14,442 ST. LOUIS 6,775 KANSAS CITY 5,357

DETROIT 11,684 DENVER 7505 HOUSTON 28,563 SEATTLE 9904 LAS VEGAS 5318 L.A 66,005 RICHMOND 3,831 PHOENIX 8,489 HIV/AIDs Population

0 - 10,000 10,000 - 20,000 20,000 - 30,000 + 30,000

Pedestrian Density based on surrounding businesses 0 - 10 11- 20 21- 30+

ZUCOTTI PARK

GREELEY SQUARE

CITY HALL PARK

DABDA Derived from the five stages of grieving, the structure reflects the programming through enabling each user to emotionally connect to initial moment of when a victim finds out his/her HIV status. Emerging from a foundation ripples and changes, as to reflect the physical and emotional transformation that takes place within.

ZUCOTTI PARK USER EXPERIENCE

DENIAL: Coping usually begins with the person thinking “No way, not me.” A person in denial may feel indifferent; the truth is false to them for the situation itself is a mirage that is not real. Abstraction of this stage comes in the form of a body of water, shallow in depth with a dark granite floor; this creates the illusion of a deep and mysterious body of water, splitting the space into impassible passages. ANGER: “Not me” will usually give way to “Why me?” as the person begins to accept the reality of the illness and becomes angry. This polarizing stage in grieving creates a barrier, formed by foliage to obscure the path of the user, extending the experience beyond a navigational journey. BARGAINING: As anger subsides, or even in its midst, the person may begin to bargain for more time. This limited viewpoint, asks for balancing between two stages to make compromise for the future. Shown in (FIGURE) this internal struggle lies in the balance of the two slopes in the form, one depressed while the contrasting form rise from the landscape. DEPRESSION: The hopelessness combined with uncertainty creates the isolative nature of this path; a slope that dives below grade with retaining walls of granite that entombs users in a cold and claustrophobic state that can only be felt once within its structure. The largest and most mysterious form of the installation creates the isolative and powerful pull of depression, as to reflect a void within. ACCEPTANCE: the liberation and peace that comes from accepting one’s fate. Unlike the previous decades, HIV is a fairly manageable disease, with some patients living up to 25 years or more. The highest of the forms, this bridge allows users to stand upon and gain the clear perception of the previous paths. This bridge spans across the site, engaging users from the road; pedestrians will utilize this “cross” bridge as a shortcut to cross the site. This is designed to engage users instinctually, compounding the journey of each HIV/AIDS victim into the everyday of each pedestrian.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” Melody Beattie

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ZUCOTTI PARK

Act-Upâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first demonstration took place on March 24th on Wall Street, to protest the profiteering of pharmaceutical companies. Seventeen people are arrested. After the demonstration, the FDA announces it will shorten its drug approval process by two years.

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Re-designed after being damaged by the fall of the twin towers on September 11, 2001; the park exhibits large crowds and pedestrian traffic throughout the day. The urban oasis created the ideal medium for the first exploration of the museum form. The concept, Internal Energy. The structure of the site takes over the north-west corner of the park, to maximize pedestrian exposure. Undulating forms protrudes from under the sidewalk, raising the museum as if from within the earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s core. This language is reminiscent of the external changes brought on by internal struggle. Bridge walkway Signifies Acceptance, provides a clear view of the park.

Below-grade contemplation space Signifies Depression, isolative form provides respite from society.

Five trees represents the stages of grieving. Signifies Anger, where feelings obscures the truth.

Water feature Signifies Denial and where one can only see the larger picture only through the right filter.

Three trees Represents every man, woman, and child that has died from HIV/AIDS related illnesses.

WE FEEL FINE We Feel Fine is an organization that explores the context of human emotions on a global scale designed a program that gathers information from weblogs; this database gathers from sites such as: LiveJournal, MSN Spaces, MySpace, Blogger, Flikr, Technorati, Feedster, and Google. The program filters through the sites mentioned above for sentences containing feelings through phrases such as “I feel” or “I am feeling”. Then the feeling is sorted through a database of 5,000 preidentified feelings, and each color that is associated with said feelings. Imbedded in each sentence is general information of each user such as nicknames, timestamp, sex, location and even weather near that user. With the information of each feeling, the data is broken down, and compiled into programmable visualizations that reflect the mood of the internet at anytime. This process repeats every ten minutes, identifying up to 15,000-20,000 feelings per day.

unfiltered emotions

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This database enable users to input feelings and is provided with an instantaneous feedback loop that reflects the second phase of the concept, where energy exerted such as emotions is responded to equally, reflecting the conservation of energy throughout the globe. Information will inhabit 52 pylons that are scattered at random within the crosswalk perimeter. These vertical pylons will display information within via LEDs located within each 1â&#x20AC;? diameter form. Drawing inspiration from the imagery of pedestrian traveling through the intersection, as the user inputs their emotion, the rods will show emit colors and shapes that reflect the current users that exhibit the same emotions, enabling them to feel the presence of those who felt their emotion. Three pylon, one of which will permanently display HIV/AIDs statistic, this glowing red beacon, which will pulse slow or fast depending on the rate of infection will act as a catalyst for the emotions that resonates from it. The other two pylons will display emotions that users felt from Zucotti Park and City Hall respectively; Greeley square will act as the filter from which emotions can flow through and resonate between each site.

GREELEY SQUARE USER EXPERIENCE

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User to User Interaction

User to Environment Interaction

“Acceptance is not submission; it is acknowledgement of the facts of a situation. Then deciding what you’re going to do about it.” Kathleen Casey Theisen

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At the NYC headquarter of Northwest Orient Airlines, Act-Up again protested the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent refusal to seat a passenger with AIDS. The policy was reversed.

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Taking cues from the Precision stage of learning, where one gathers relevance information that enables them to identify with new knowledge. This process of understanding information through relative lenses gave rise to questions pertaining to potential forms: Can it record and synthesize information abstractly yet accurately? How can it respond to each user differently without being general? The answer came forth through the realization that the form must remain constant and abstract, allowing the information within to continuously change, adapting to each user.

49 pylons used to visualize user emotions The significance of the 49 pylons stems from it being 7 being its root. In Hebrew, the word fullness or completeness is derived from the same word as seven. Religious: The earth being made in seven days; seven deadly sins. Historical: The liberal arts are a sum of seven subjects; Shakespeare wrote of the seven ages of man; in Chinese tradition, seven determines the stages of a womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life. Astrological: Phases of the moon lasts approximately seven days; there are seven wandering planetary bodies; there are seven days in a week. Psychology: The human brain can best remember items/numbers in sequences of sevens.

3 pylons used to visualize HIV/AIDS statistics Three pylons, one of which will permanently display HIV/AIDs statistic, this glowing red beacon, which will pulse slow or fast depending on the rate of infection will act as a catalyst for the emotions that resonates from it. The other two pylons will display emotions that users felt from Zucotti Park and City Hall respectively; Greeley square will act as the filter from which emotions can flow through and resonate between each site.

Augmented Reality phone application

AUGMENTED REALITY Augmented reality or AR, came to the publicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention with the advancements in technology and gaming devices. AR is a term for a real-time perception through a direct or an indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input, such as sound or graphics. Relating to the concept of mediated-reality, in which the perception of reality is filtered through a computer.

CITY HALL PARK USER EXPERIENCE

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Embedded within each dot is information, videos, and pictures that pertains to a single event or person that has influenced the progression of HIV/AIDS causes. This information is only revealed once the user holds his or her phone camera over the forms. This internalization of the physical creates a language that resonates beyond each user. By enabling the user to be the vessel for the museum relates back to the CBSM concept of social norms that one relies on to be the determinate of right and wrong.

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etched wall application

â&#x20AC;&#x153;each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope... and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.â&#x20AC;? Robert F. Kennedy

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NYC CITY HALL

Act-Up’s second anniversary protest draws 3,000 to New York’s City Hall, making “Target City Hall” the largest AIDS activist demonstration to date. Act-Up protested the inadequacy of New York’s AIDS policy under Mayor Edward Koch. About 200 are arrested.

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New York City Hall has been the stage for many struggles, whether for rights, understanding or for power. The final stage of Generalization: where the synthesis of information becomes new knowledge and the experience of that process is internalized and becomes a personal experience, laying the groundwork for knowledge to be acquired in the future. City Hall Park, located directly across from NYC’s City Hall. In this stage of the user’s journey, the viewer has been familiarized with the topic of HIV/AIDS through the internal and external components of the Muse; harnessing the momentum from the previous spaces, this site addresses the core problem that has faced the older museum paradigm; utilizing users as agents for change.

Etched glass wall Etched onto the glass forms are dots that symbolize constellations in the night sky. This inspiration is reminiscent of Greek mythology’s tradition of honoring heroes by placing them into the night sky, as to watch over and guide each consecutive generations. The two “battle-lines” form, constructed out of frosted glass material to exudes the glow of energy from within the environment and its users

Raised earth platform .Two colliding forms reminiscent of lines drawn in the sand ruptures the tamed landscape of the park, raising the ground to form a platform from which speeches and outdoor events can be used for its natural stage-like form.

Conclusion: The issue of HIV/AIDs carries a significant weight in today’s culture; the stigma associated with the illness will no doubt fade in time. By providing a platform for understanding and acceptance, the re-defined museum experience will inform encourage users to engage in their community as social activist.

“The art of acceptance is the art of making someone who has just done you a small favor wish that he might have done you a greater one.” Martin Luther King, Jr.