Missing and soiled ceiling tile. Dirty, ripped, worn carpet. Acrowded workspace.
This isn't paradise; however, it is a description of threeUniversity Computing Services labs that are slated for renovation,extreme makeover style.
Twenty-one students in Family and Consumer Science InteriorDesign class were given the opportunity by UCS and FacilitiesManagement to redesign computer labs located in WB 213, WB 216 andAT 208. The winning team for each room gets to have their designbrought to life and is also awarded a cash prize. One lab istentatively scheduled to be renovated during the December holidaybreak and the other two over the summer.
The winners were students Kenneth Daniels and Hilari Ayers forAT 208, Heather Harrison and Molly O'Connell for WB 213 andDanielle Sedory and Kelly Gaughran for WB 216. Winners wereannounced Tuesday and notified by e-mail.
THE NEED
Todd Phelps, Assistant Director of Operations and ClientSupport, and Peggy Hunter, coordinator of UCS general computer labsapproached Facilities Management when they planned to renovatethree labs that were in desperate need of attention, Phelpssaid.
"They're based on a method of putting the most computers in aspace you could and hope the students would be okay with that,"Phelps said. "We're passed that. There's just a need for moreworkspace."
Phelps and Hunter wanted the labs to have a more open workspaceand a place where students could lounge with their laptops to workon group projects. In order to further perfect this idea, theywanted to have students directly involved in addressing thoseneeds.
"Who better to know what needs to be done in those labs thanstudents themselves?" Phelps said.
THE RULES
There were four teams of two for WB 216 and three teams of twofor WB 213 and AT 208. Each team was to present a scaled floorplan, one interior perspective, examples of the furniture and thefinishes and a design statement to Janet Fick, instructor of Familyand Consumer Sciences. The project counts for one-third of theirgrade.
While UCS gave the students few restraints, there are real-worldrestrictions of which the students had to be aware.
Dan Stephenson, an interior designer with facilities management,guided students as they worked within the constraints. Stephensmade sure that students knew they had to comply with ADA standards,fire code and had to be restricted to using companies likeSteelcase, which has a contract with the university. Stephensonalso acted as one of the judges.
"It has to be something that's reasonable to be created,"Stephenson said.
He also said though the students are designing for a "wow"factor, UCS has to be willing to lose bodies if students are to use"funny-shaped" tables as opposed to rectangular ones.
UCS will ultimately decide whether the designs will beimplemented.
THE PROCESS
The first step, initial programming, had the teams discuss theneed and wants and toured the labs. Students then compiled a listof questions and addressed concerns during class. During the secondstep, schematics, teams drafted their plans for their proposeddesigns. During the third phase, preliminary planning, the teamsstarted to meet individually with UCS as the competition began toincrease.
Fick said the competitive atmosphere is different for thecollaborative work interior designers are used to.
"Now they're thrown into the mix of 'wait a minute, if I helpthem work out their design problems, it could hurt me,'" Ficksaid.
Last week, teams worked on the red line phase, in which teamssubmitted their final drawings to Fick to work out any glitches,Fick said.
Senior Laine Gosney said using Adobe Photoshop makes renderingher plans easier, but still poses difficulties.
"We spent two hours saving this drawing because they are suchhuge files, you can't save it to your e-mail, you can't save it toyour USB. It's just really hard," Gosney said.
Senior Katie Nowak also ran into technology issues. She said ifshe had to render her plan by hand it would take one hour to do itnicely. By opting to use Photoshop, it took her two hours to printher team's project in addition to the forty-five minutes she spentrendering it with the software, Nowak said.
THE WINNERS
Seniors Harrison and O' Connell had the winning design for WB213.
"I knew [when] starting the design that it was a competition butI didn't want that to take over what the design was going to be,"Harrison said.
"Heather and I are proud of the fact that we came up with anoriginal design, something completely different from everyoneelse," O'Connell said. "We were chosen out of an awesome andtalented group of designers."
Harrison and O'Connell plan on using their newly-designed labsafter they are constructed.
"Hopefully it will be a place that other students will want tocome see and work in," O'Connell said.
As for any changes made to their labs, both foresee the lightingplan changing due to expense. Harrison thinks the furnishings maybe changed due to pricing as well.
Seniors Gaughran and Sedory won with their design for WB216.
"I am most proud that all the hard work and time spent on aproject will actually be designed," Gaughran said.
Gaughran faced a challenge of how to divide the lab into twospaces and allow enough space for 36 computers. Her partner worriedabout being restricted to Steelcase for furnishing.
Though challenging, Sedory said the project was "veryreasonable" because of the amount of information UCS gave them madeit easier.
AT 208 winners, Ayers and Daniels, are excited about theiraccomplishment.
"I immediately called Hilari to tell her the good news," Danielssaid. "When I checked my e-mail, I had to wipe my eyes because Ihad thought that I was reading the message wrong. The first word Isaw was 'congratulations.' That was all I needed to see."
Without a lot of space in the lab, Ayers said the team had toredirect their focus.
"We took the high ceilings and decided to make that our focalpoint," Ayers said. She found rearranging the furniture posed thegreatest difficulty to making a working classroom and lab.
THE FUTURE
"I couldn't pass up an opportunity like this for the students,"Fick said. She said she would like to continue this challenge inthe future as she thinks calls the contest a "great testimony tothe program."
University Shops will construct the rooms and may have to useoutside contractors if necessary for work, Stephenson said.
Phelps hopes to continue the Designer's Challenge for theremainder of UCS labs if it is successful, funded and approved byfacilities management.
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