Design students are collaborating to create full-scale structures made out of sustainable material and will be placing these structures around campus to observe the impact they have on people.
About 72 design students from three sections of the environmental communication design class worked in teams to create one part of the structure and then put it together to make one dynamic structure, or intervention.
The installation location of the intervention is ultimately determined by the students. The students have an idea as to where the intervention will be installed, but have some flexibility on the final location.
“When they arrive, they’ll make site and time specific observations and adjust all to what they encounter at the time of their installation,” said Peter DeMaria, a Cal State Long Beach design professor.
Design student Jacquelyn Chang said the group was considering placing the intervention on the walkway near Brotman Hall where students walk through a tight gap between a short wall and pillar. Students commonly try to squeeze one at a time through the small space instead of walking around the pillars.
The design students are planning on installing the intervention project today at 4 p.m., but the final location is still undetermined. The installation will stay up for about a week and then be moved back to the design building.
The students regularly use toothpicks to create small models, but creating larger models and placing them in an environment gives them a better idea of the design process, said Wesley Woelfel, a CSULB design professor.
“The work blurs the distinction between industrial design, interior design, architecture, cognitive science, sociology, and urban planning,” DeMaria said.
Creating the structures, which are made out of wood and steel, and held together by zip ties are only one aspect of the project. The point of the project is for the students to find new “methods, tools and processes for creating public spaces,” DeMaria said.
The social observations are a very important aspect of the project and students will be observing if and how the design will impact the space. The installations have been designed by students with the idea that the objects will intentionally “induce observable social change,” according to DeMaria.
“The students experience first-hand how design plays a major role in the success or failure of our built environment,” DeMaria said.
The students will also document the entire project and observations will later be posted and shared online as a photo and video montage.
According to Chang, the group has spent a lot of time planning and deciding what message they wanted to convey through the intervention and is hoping everything goes as planned during the installation.
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