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YOUR Interfacesfrom Design 7 Interior Design Studio with Prof. Loukia Tsafoulia & Severino Alfonso
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This project was a collaboration with the Kinney Center at Saint Joseph's University. We were tasked with renovating the existing dorm building for the neurodiverse community living at SJU. The project required working with a real life client to bring a playful, fun, and efficient environment for the students to have a comfortable living experience at college. We conducted extensive research about topics related to the neurodiverse community as well as sensory design elements to better understand our user group and design for their needs.
The concept relates to the ideas of interfaces, which are experiences where 2 systems, the user and the design element, interact and communicate a physical and mental stimulation through the use of media, surfaces, and forms. The concept is focused on how the body can interact with the flexible interfaces in space to establish a relationship between body and architecture. The goal is to allow people to feel comfortable in their own environment without feeling restricted by the existing conditions. The space is being designed to be responsive to the body, modifiable to individuals using the space, and provide a variety of sensory experiences for users, tapping into perception and helping users better understand and respond to the space. Through these interfaces, the design is curated to your needs and your body. The interfaces will predict the users’ needs, thus your experience can be more personalized and immersive throughout the spaces. |
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An interface is an experience where two systems, the user and the design element interact and communicate a physical and mental stimulation through the use of media, surfaces, and forms. The concept is focused on how the body can interact with the flexible interfaces in space to establish a relationship between body and architecture. The space is being designed to be responsive to the body, modifiable to individuals using the space and provide a variety of sensory experience for users, tapping into perception and helping users better understand and respond to the space. Through these interfaces the design is curated to your needs and your body. The interfaces will predict the users needs thus your experience can be more personalized and immersive through the spaces.
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Why is creating change important to you?
Creating change in design allows us to bring awareness to certain issues and groups of people in the community, specifically the neurodiverse community in this case. Before, the neurodiverse community was not completely accepted and designed for. Therefore, this opportunity opened our eyes to a new way to approach design with a realistic purpose and goal, to encourage and increase inclusivity in design. -Mallory Katen |
"As designers, we have to alter how we design for a specific user in terms of materiality, function, structure, layout, circulation, etc." |
