Collaborative Design

In 2013 The Ohio State University was in the middle of a new construction project called the North Campus Residential District. The University had some problems to solve regarding the new district. The problems revolved around student health and wellness, recreation, and study and collaborative spaces. Ohio State turned to its design program to help solve these problems so the department created the Collaborative Design course. The course is designed to bring the three design disciplines, visual communication, interior space design and industrial design, together to work through these problems and present their solutions. For my group we were given the task of finding effective solutions for collaborative and study spaces. Our solution which we called TempSet, (pronounced Temp Seat) solved two problems. First, it gave students a transformable space to study either alone or with a group, where none existed before. Secondly, it solved the problem of underutilized spaces. The seating system could be installed in new buildings as well as existing ones.   

Learning & Studying

The Problem

Researching students study habits and spaces we found that students did much of their studying in public spaces, such as libraries, cafes and especially hallways. Libraries and cafes can become full quickly leaving many students without a place to study. Public spaces such as hallways are available in every building but, we found, offer little available space to study comfortably. We concluded that hallways are underutilized in campus buildings.

The Process

The team started brainstorming the pain points and possible solutions to the public spaces problem. We concluded that students need sitting space, a place to securely store their things, tables for books and laptops and power outlets for all their electronic devices.

Ideation Phase

Next, our team started sketching ideas based on our research findings. The goal with this phase was to flesh out all possible solutions to find the one that solved the most problems. Working in the collaborative setting was very helpful in this phase because we could critique each others work and help discover possible problems and solutions.

Solution

The solution to our problem was literally written on the walls. Our team conceived a bank of chairs and tables that would work on a rail system. Students could slide the seats to be grouped or singular to meet their study needs. The student could then pull the seat down, locking it into place and then either pull the table section down or leave it up. The folded down seats offer storage space so students don't leave their bags in the walkways. Electrical outlets would be made available at each table station, positioned behind ever other chair. Graphics would be utilized to make the sliding action intuitive and for way finding.