Juxtaposing speed and movement with relaxation.

Hurry up to Relax: Movement Incites Space for Reflection
TITLE:
HURRY UP TO RELAX
TEAM:
JESSICA BETH CORR
INSTRUCTOR:
NORMAN HUMBERTO
DATE:
FALL 2018
User Experience
Architecture
Design
Concept
User Interaction

CHALLENGE

How might we design a space that elicits peace and reflection? How do busy, and stress-prone college students find the time and space to reflect and have a meditative-like experience? Can we challenge the idea of a quiet solitude as the only solution to strike inspiration and space for reflection?

SOLUTION

Hurry up to Relax is an experimentation towards bringing together two seemingly incompatible things: speed and reflection. Often when we think of a place to bring about reflection we think of quiet places of solitude. What is often overlooked as a solution towards processing stress and bringing a sense of peace is kinesthetic movement and the manipulation of light. Just as people go running or take a long drive to process the day, we can use light, speed, and connection as elements for processing our everyday lives. I designed a meditative space that illicites self reflection while students are walking from class to class.

_Phase Discover

SITE:
CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY, SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA

The site for this project is on a brick pathway just adjacent to Dexter Lawn on the Cal Poly campus. I chose this site for its linear form and extreme circulation: this path is one of the most popular and busy walkways for students to navigate the campus during passing periods. This posed an excellent environment to begin manipulating the tradtional route of navigation and recording how students responded.

_Phase Define

PURPOSE, GOALS, NARRATIVE, EXPERIENCE

I became particularly fascinated with a linear form of circulation and what happens when you place obstructions in that path. It was incredibly interesting to see how an obstruction in a linear path could split the circulation into a two-way street, become a place for connection, or act as a cause for confusion and concern in need of immediate inspection. Nevertheless, I was gaining overwhelming feedback that these obstacles could be real opportunities to create a mindful and meandering walk for students. My goal became to enhance a student’s once linear and mindless walk to class into a subtle experience where students can continue to walk straight to class while impacted by hypnotizing streaks of light and have the opportunity to navigate some strategically placed partitions and objects. Mindfulness on the go!

Through a series of phases involving substantial iteration and experimental work, I found that I was most fixated on how speed and light could be used as a hypnotic space of reflection. In addition to my own experimentation out on the Cal Poly quad, I looked to other applications of speed and light as precedence and inspiration towards making critical decision decisions.

_Phase Develop

FORM, FUNCTION, SITE

In defining the form and function of this building, I became fixated on a regular form as to not interrupt the natural ebb and flow of the students. Instead, I wanted to further express that linear movement by creating a compatible tube-like form. The interior of the space is where I began to challenge and excite the circulation through strategically placed obstacles, and voids in the facade. The patterned linear elements and cuts in the facade let in bursts of light into an otherwise dark space. This hypnotic and somewhat jarring experience is one that could be compared to driving along the highway at night and passing the frequent and bright road surface markings that define one lane from the next. This intentional design decision was based on my own user research on
Light Visualization in EMDR therapy.
The basic idea is that we can harness the power of light and movement to heal trauma and process stress in subtle and subconscious manners.

_Phase Deliver

In order to better understand the implementation and reality of my project on the site, I did a series of drawings includings plans, diagrams, sections, and experiential renders. Some of my greatest takeaways from this portion of the project was that I wish I had done them earlier in the design process. This project was early on in my academic career and I did not yet know the importance of understanding a building through plan and section. The heart of this project was certainly in the user research and in the narrative.

Juxtaposing speed and movement with relaxation.

Hurry up to Relax: Movement Incites Space for Reflection

PROJECT TYPE: STUDIO DESIGN PROJECT

TEAM: JESSICA BETH CORR

INSTRUCTOR: NORMAN HUMBERTO

DATE: FALL 2018

CHALLENGE

How might we design a space that elicits peace and reflection? How do busy, and stress-prone college students find the time and space to reflect and have a meditative-like experience? Can we challenge the idea of a quiet solitude as the only solution to strike inspiration and space for reflection?

SOLUTION

Hurry up to Relax is an experimentation towards bringing together two seemingly incompatible things: speed and reflection. Often when we think of a place to bring about reflection we think of quiet places of solitude. What is often overlooked as a solution towards processing stress and bringing a sense of peace is kinesthetic movement and the manipulation of light. Just as people go running or take a long drive to process the day, we can use light, speed, and connection as elements for processing our everyday lives. I designed a meditative space that elicits self reflection while students are walking from class to class.

Discover.  Define.  Develop.  Deliver.

_Phase Discover

SITE: CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY, SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA

The site for this project is on a brick pathway just adjacent to Dexter Lawn on the Cal Poly campus. I chose this site for its linear form and extreme circulation: this path is one of the most popular and busy walkways for students to navigate the campus during passing periods. This posed an excellent environment to begin manipulating the tradtional route of navigation and recording how students responded.

_Phase Define

PURPOSE, GOALS, NARRATIVE, EXPERIENCE

I became particularly fascinated with a linear form of circulation and what happens when you place obstructions in that path. It was incredibly interesting to see how an obstruction in a linear path could split the circulation into a two-way street, become a place for connection, or act as a cause for confusion and concern in need of immediate inspection. Nevertheless, I was gaining overwhelming feedback that these obstacles could be real opportunities to create a mindful and meandering walk for students. My goal became to enhance a student’s once linear and mindless walk to class into a subtle experience where students can continue to walk straight to class while impacted by hypnotizing streaks of light and have the opportunity to navigate some strategically placed partitions and objects. Mindfulness on the go!

An Obession with Circulation

Iterative Circulation Diagrams

Experiential Light Study

Image of a Light Study Model

Through a series of phases involving substantial iteration and experimental work, I found that I was most fixated on how speed and light could be used as a hypnotic space of reflection. In addition to my own experimentation out on the Cal Poly quad, I looked to other applications of speed and light as precedence and inspiration towards making critical decision decisions.

Image by The Amazing: "Ambulane"

Image by Francesca Woodman

Image by Sound of Silence Photograpahy

_Phase Develop

FORM, FUNCTION, SITE

In defining the form and function of this building, I became fixated on a regular form as to not interrupt the natural ebb and flow of the students. Instead, I wanted to further express that linear movement by creating a compatible tube-like form. The interior of the space is where I began to challenge and excite the circulation through strategically placed obstacles, and voids in the facade. The patterned linear elements and cuts in the facade let in bursts of light into an otherwise dark space. This hypnotic and somewhat jarring experience is one that could be compared to driving along the highway at night and passing the frequent and bright road surface markings that define one lane from the next. This intentional design decision was based on my own user research on Light Visualization in EMDR therapy. The basic idea is that we can harness the power of light and movement to heal trauma and process stress in subtle and subconscious manners.

_Phase Deliver

In order to better understand the implementation and reality of my project on the site, I did a series of drawings includings plans, diagrams, sections, and experiential renders. Some of my greatest takeaways from this portion of the project was that I wish I had done them earlier in the design process. This project was early on in my academic career and I did not yet know the importance of understanding a building through plan and section. The heart of this project was certainly in the user research and in the narrative.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

jbcorr@calpoly.edu

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