Maker-in-Residence
An experiential maker-centric residence program to inform the public in design thinking concepts
As part of The Westport Library's expansion of their MakerSpace, I helped build a new residence program to inform and direct the community in related topics.
The Westport Library is home to a variety of space-demanding functions and more often than not is constrained by the limitations of their available space and the impracticality of frequent reconfiguration. Addressing this need was the focus of my residence program. I directed interested members of the community through sessions in ideation, design, fabrication, assembly, and documentation. Possibly my favorite part of the process was the brainstorming and the subsequent design concepts that came about from that session. Some of my favorite fantasies of workspaces included:
Built-in librarian
Fireplace
Work in a robot/transformer
Decorated by community members
I'm the boss of my sister
Sound proof drummer's container
Dr. Who phone booth, more space on the inside than it looks from the outside
Elevator room lifts above the fray
Geodesic dome
The suggestion of the space being a ‘geodesic dome’ and having a Dr. Who-like space inside led to a whole independent brainstorm on how to use clever geometric mechanisms to create 3D space from 2D.
As ridiculous as some of these ideas sounded, many of them ultimately contributed in some tangible way to the final design. For instance, one particularly young participant in the brainstorming session, insisted that he was, in fact, the boss of his sister, emphasizing his point by including it on the idea board. What did he mean by that, besides the obvious establishment of sibling hierarchy? Well, as he went on to explain, as much as he loved his sister, she was a "little crazy" at times and he would enjoy the option to close off his workspace from her distraction. Yes! Of course! An idea that no other participant had thought of - an option to button up the space against outside distraction.
It was in this spirit that I sought to demonstrate how wonderful ideas can come from unlikely places. By running through some exercises to shake off the creative cobwebs, other such ideas soon appeared and drove some of the more unique potential designs of the space, several ultimately contributing in one form or another to the final design.
I visualized the lineage of ideas with my ‘Design Heritage Tree’ during brainstorming sessions to highlight to patrons how design thinking can generate solutions.
