“Treat or Tree”
Summarise the group discussion around the theme of the space. What different understandings of freedom, joy, solidarity, and power did your group share? What did you agree on? Write about this process.
We understood the theme “Space of Joy” as something playful, fun and appealing. We most obviously related this term to children and young adults. We chose for the design of the space to be light hearted and calming. We discussed that we would like to transform a space that it usually disliked by children into something that kids would want to visit. Our options hovered around doctor’s offices and Leukaemia Cancer Treatment centres. The reason we all agreed on a dentist’s office was because it is one of the most common dreaded spaces for children. We decided to make changes to such a mundane space to make it joyful for the patients.
We wanted the space to feel like a tree house, elevated from the ground and one with nature. Sustainability thus became one of our prime concerns. For the material research we chose elements that were recyclable such as thermal cork for the exterior and Benetti moss for an accent wall. The reason for choosing strand woven Mulberry for the flooring was to add another element to our rustic and natural theme. Besides these chosen elements, to further enhance the theme of joy we decided we wanted an actual tree to be the central attraction of the office. We chose to add an element of water to it too. Water for us translated to tranquillity and peacefulness. These emotions and moods would further help in pacifying the the nervousness children feel as they enter such a stressful space. A clear glass cylindrical element placed around the tree would thus not only water the tree but also add our liquid feature.
To keep the space airy and spacious we chose to have high ceilings and off white blinds. The colours we chose for the space were peach and light green. We didn’t go down the route of rainbow colours (something instantly related to joy) as we felt it would be too vibrant, distracting and chaotic for the space. We went down the pastels route as it would compliment the space rather than diverting from it.
The ceiling was made to be made out of glass due to it’s transparent and clear property. This element was important for the theme as it allowed natural light to enter the space. We interpreted joy as brightness as well as freedom. Thus, a concrete low ceiling would not only be restricting but go against our overall concept. An interactive element of our constructed environment was involving the tree branches that hung down from the tree trunk. Since the “joyful” element associated with teeth is the tooth fairy we thought the children could write their wishes on small chits of paper and hang them from the tree. New patients would view this as being hopeful, fun and less daunting. Lastly the open terrace with a dreamy white picket fence was the finishing touch on our model. In order to be one with nature we thought it was essential to include a space with absolutely no restrictions, literally and figuratively. While child proofing would be taken care of, this area would act as the play room while the children waited for their turn to visit the dentist.
Reflection- Bridge 1 was much better than expected. My group worked well together and all the elements moved along smoothly. I did the material research for the project and I personally found it to be extremely exciting. I visited the The New School healthy materials lab and took a look at multiple possible options. I had to be picky in choosing the final elements that had to compliment each other as well as out maquette and the theme of ‘joy’ holistically.
