Studio Observations

Alyssa Hankus

03/25/12

IAR 302

Learning Environments Essay

“We are IARc,” a statement that needs to read within the studio space in every aspect. We need to be branded. This concept is something that stood out to me within the presentations. It is our job as a student body within IARc to leave our mark, and our legacy on the department. The students complain, myself included, about how blank the studio space is instead of creating an identity. When Patrick said “we teach in your studio space, not ours,” that resonated with me.

“Create your own experience, and bring your own identity to it.” It is my goal as I set out to redesign the studio to allow the students and the professors to make the space their own within the designed parameters. Relating this idea back to “Buildings that Learn” the text suggested that it was optimal to have a space that can be customized again-and-again. Now that the “new” has worn off of the building it is time to take charge of it and make it our own.

During the social behavioral group’s presentation they stated that we as individuals require human interaction/relationships, customizable spaces, and boundaries. This group also recommended that we as individuals need opportunities to personalize our environment (as a whole and individual spaces). These are all elements that need to be addressed when redesigning the studio (both 3^rd and 4^th floors).

 It was the desire of the student body of IARc when polled to have elements such as a “cozy corner,” task lighting, an increased amount of computer space outside of the digital lab, places for photography staging, food supply/preparation, showers, storage, personal tackable spaces, and improved sound barriers. It is my goal to tackle the majority of these projects and address their needs as a department. I have chosen to team up with four others in order to accomplish this goal.

As a group we will be working on individual aspects as well as pairing for schematic design, FF & E, schedules, and other targeted goals that the group has agreed upon. It is an objective for this to be an all-encompassing project, but one that each of can walk away from with something individual for our portfolios.  Individually I will be designing break out spaces for technology, as well as collaborating with Brian Peck on proposed furniture designs, and assisting on the group sections spoken about before (FF&E, schematic design, etc…).

Currently our studio has quite a few problems that we as a whole are concerned about and will address. An example of this would be technology accessibility. The outlets we have in the floors do not service us well. They are either covered, or not within reach in many cases. Another problem is acoustic within the studio as a whole. Sound carries between studio sections as well as through the different floor levels. Lighting is a huge problem as well. The lighting system we have now is unreliable and does not provide enough light at night, or enough light for tasking. Temperature control is yet another issue. It is our group’s hope that we can address as many of these concerns and more as possible.