Shared Space

RETHINKING THE RESIDENCE HALL

Our booth at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in NYC (our pieces in white/maple)

Design Brief: design a desk, chair, wardrobe, bed, and storage solution for the University of Oregon Bean Residence Hall renovation

Solution: furniture that can create a shared space and embraces living harmoniously with other people by transforming an austere dorm room into a home

PARTNERSHIPS

Amanda Kibbel – my studio partner
University of Oregon Housing Department – client
Oregon Correctional Enterprises (OCE) – manufacturers

RESULTS

OCE manufactured Amanda's and my pieces for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair
Our wardrobe and desk were chosen to be manufactured for for the 300 rooms in Bean Residence Hall

PRESS

Core 77

Our Favorite Student Work from NYCxDesign

University of Oregon

Design Students Partner with Prisoners to Make Better Residence Hall Furniture

Arts Thread

NYCxDesign17: ICFF Schools, University of Oregon

Oregon Correction Enterprises

Joint Venture – Reimagining the Residence Hall Experience

RESEARCH

Interviews

Current residents – complaints & desires
University Housing – design expectations
OCE – manufacturing capabilities

Key takeaways: ease transition, self-authorship, and mattering

Small Space Typology

Privacy vs communal space
Customizing space
Life hacks
Intentional communities
Home as commodity
Intersections of space

Class Sleepover

Our class of 15 students spent a night in Bean so we could better understand what it was like to live and go about daily tasks in that space.

Small Space Case Studies

Tiny homes, trailers, motorhomes
Compact high rise apartments
Trains, boats, planes, space stations
Architectural utopias – "ideal living spaces"
Sci-fi solutions, spaceships

IKEA Life at Home Report

“It’s clear that we are moving from valuing objects for their own sake to appreciating the experiences they can bring – a table is not just a beautiful or practical object, it’s an enabler for social gatherings at home.”

“We are trying to rebuild aspects that seem to have gotten lost in urbanization: a sense of belonging, trust and protection associated with the small society.”

“Positive feelings increase when people live together”

IDEATION & DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

FIRST CONCEPT MODELS

Initially we focused on adjustable furniture to give users the flexibility of customizing their use of space through bed height and desk placement. Due to manufacturing challenges, we pivoted after our midterm review to focus on shared space instead.

1:8 PAPER MODELS

Creating many iterations of paper models allowed us to easily test room layouts and light distribution through the small windows. The paper models below represent our final design.

TECHNICAL DRAWINGS

MODELS IN BEAN RESIDENCE HALL

For our final critique, we build a full set of furniture with MDF and pine, and presented it in a bedroom in Bean.

Final Concept

Our final concept was a shared space to create moments that would remind our users of being at home rather than in a residence hall on campus.

When our users walk through the door, they can sit on the small dresser, take off their shoes, and place their backpack down. By arranging two desks together, they have a dining room table to commune around with friends.

Suddenly they are able to reintegrate their routine from home into their dorm room.

Features

minimal hardware to reduce cost, weight, and clothing snags
storage in the desks and benches
more seating for guests
rounded edges for aesthetics, and ergonomics while moving
low bed, easy to get into with an injury
room for average mini fridge under the bed
everything is seven inches off the ground, perfect for putting storage boxes underneath
small dressers can be stacked, put under the bed, or used as stools
furniture allows for flexible placement within the small room

MANUFACTURING

ICFF

set up as an actual room in Bean (room would end at the bottom of the second bed)
wardrobe, drawers, bench, desk (right), and bed (left) by Sarah Hashiguchi and Amanda Kibbel
bed (right) and desk (left) by Cara Murray and Sara Murillo
chair by Natalie Thomas and Alex Caves
room models on the wall created by each studio pair