What should we do with 2 West?

Brian Mathews, May 2008

Research Design

• Focus Groups• Interviews• Open Forum• Observations• Facebook Polls• Message Boards• Flip Chart Comments• Drawings

Next Steps

• Staff Input

• Feedback From Prototypes

• Furniture Trials

• 342 Chairs

• 49 Group Tables

• 35 Individual Desks

• Concentrating• Boring• Study until you pass out• Unwritten spot of quiet• Work environment• Meeting space• Group work• Old-looking• Reading area• Unattractive• Harsh lighting• Sterile• Tech-ish• Like a hospital• Lonely

• Lots of desks• Uninviting• Oppressive• Open • Clustered• Barren• Desolate• Dimly-fluorescent light• Ignored• Bland• Old School Study Hall• No restrictions on talking• Low-key• Nostalgic

lights, carpet, power, paint

Chairs on Wheels

Table Management

Dividers, Partitions, Walls

Flipcharts vs. Whiteboards

IndependentWorkspace

Nooks, Wings, Sides, Hideaways

Social Aspects of the Study Environment(Neutrality + Approachability + Inspiration)

Location & Course Identifiers

The library has begun the process of renovating the second floor group study areas. Following the successful remodeling of the first floor commons they have decided to include extensive student feedback in the design process.

After the renovation plans for Tech Rec were released last fall to widespread criticism, it is admirable to see campus planners include student input from the inception of a redesign project, rather than seeking it at a later time in the process.

The library is one of the most consistently used areas of campus, and the studying that happens there is central to a student’s time at Tech. Allowing students input in the environment where they learn is an exceptional idea that will hopefully create positive results both in the design and in the study habits of students who use the space.

Technique, 2.22.08

• Thoughts?

• Ideas?

• Concerns?

• Suggestions?

• Questions?