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TEAM PROJECT
STUDIO V
FALL18
KENT STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY KENT, OHIO
290,000 SQ FT PROGRAMMED / 6,000 SQ FT DESIGNED
reading room
Vertical Community
Planning and designing a vertical living community with a focus on invisible disabilities
This was a semester-long project where I worked as a team of 4 to design a vertical community on Kent State's campus. We worked together to create a cohesive concept and then we each narrowed in on the different uses of the space. I focused on the learning space.
The Problem
Every individual deals with his or her own daily struggles, and college students in particular are likely to deal with invisible disabilities. My team chose to focus on learning disabilities and anxiety & depression because we felt that these are most prominent for the users of the space. The goal of the design was to create a multi-sensory experience while including biophilic elements. The vertical community had to include public, working, learning, and living spaces.
Initial Explorations + Research
We studied Kent State's demographics in order to understand what the users would need from the space. We felt the need to encourage community engagement and inclusivity for every user.
Concept
Exchange
Humans engage in exchanges regularly, giving one thing and receiving another. The interrelation of fluidity and emotions allows the space to become empathetic to each user. A sense of understanding creates a bond that can shift and flow without wavering.
Function
The vertical community serves Kent State's student community as well as its professors and staff. It is important that the spaces accommodate all the different functions it houses while maintaining a cohesive experience throughout.
Programming
The vertical community is a hub for working, learning, living, and public spaces to coexist.
Design Development
Keeping the concept of exchange at the forefront of the design, spaces push and pull with one another to allow functions to exchange and overlap. This promoted communication and interaction of the users. The mixture of natural and manufactured materials reinforced the concept while the combination of open and private spaces allowed users to determine how they would utilize and feel in the space.
Final Production
Angular shapes and forms draw users in and direct them through the space
circulation desk
balcony
The exterior environment creates an exchange with the interior to promote interaction between the spaces and the users
Next Project
Workplace
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