Full Story
How can design encourage people to interact with others?
Year
2023
Category
Experience / Industrial Design
Creating an outdoor, hands-on museum installation to foster community engagement.
Design an interactive installation as part of a university-wide project establishing an outdoor museum with 14 installations throughout the RIT Henrietta campus.
Context
As part of Metaproject 14, a collaboration with Rochester Institute of Technology as the client, 14 fourth-year industrial design students were tasked with creating outdoor, hands-on museum installations across the Henrietta RIT campus. Each installation reflected a unique RIT-oriented concept.
This installation, themed Vibration, was located at the heart of campus between the Golisano College of Computing, university housing, and the campus cafeteria.
Location Research
The site, a green yard located between academic buildings and the cafeteria, is a popular gathering spot for students and faculty.
Over the course of a week, multiple observations were made, along with a survey to better understand how people engage with the space and identify opportunities to enhance the pedestrian experience in the area.
Key Inspiration
During a site visit, a group of people were observed practicing tightrope walking at a corner of the site, a popular activity among RIT students in the summer. This pre-existing activity at the exact location became the key inspiration for the project, which aimed to visualize and experience vibration.
To make the concept of vibration accessible to the public, the design revolved around rope structures commonly found in children’s playgrounds.
Climbing the rope structure and bouncing the connected ropes serve as a clear representation of vibration—a cyclical movement of an element returning to equilibrium—and offer a playful, intuitive experience that resonates with a broad audience.
Ideation
The concept of rope structures evolved into a dynamic, sporadic arrangement of ropes and poles functioning as benches, tables, and overhead bridges.
Throught the iterations of studies, sketches, and prototypes, the ideal shape of the installation branched out from the idea of one interconnected structure that invite every people who engage with the installation can feel the movement of others.
The height and shapes of the structure is formed around the research result of the trends of the adjunt padestrian pathways and behavior observation
Final Design Concept
Experience
The installation reimagines the playful essence of childhood memories associated with rope structures, bringing that sense of joy and exploration to the university campus.
Designed for walking and sitting, the ropes convert movements into tangible vibrations, enabling users to physically feel and share the dynamic energy of the space, fostering a unique sense of connection and interaction.
Service
This installation serves as a communal space, encouraging interaction, shared memories, and a collective “vibe.”
It embodies the unique energy that makes RIT a truly memorable and distinctive place for all who engage with it.
Specitifation
The installation features 3/4-inch thick wire-core nylon ropes, strategically positioned at three heights using poles: 20 inches for sitting, 50 inches for leaning, and 100 inches for the overhead bridge.
Side rails, standing at 48 inches, exceed OSHA safety regulations by 10 inches to prevent accidental falls. Additionally, the pavement can be replaced with safer materials, such as recycled rubber, to enhance overall safety.
