The Ball State University Department of Interior Design held a contest today to find out which lucky groups would get to redesign three BSU computer labs.
The goal in the contest was for each group to create a lab that was both functional and affordable. On the functional side, the room had to be well designed, using elements such as color, lighting and layout to create a positive work environment.
At the end of the day, the finished product also had to be affordable.
The idea proposed by Juniors Chris Foster and Kayla Flook called for a lab layout with an Earth-friendly feel featuring a cork floor for the AT 208 computer lab.
The judges praised the duo's creative use of the product, saying cork floors look great and smell even better, but the material is not without its drawbacks. They ruled against Foster and Flook's idea because the cork would be too expensive.
Finances were a big factor in the judges' decisions this semester, Instructor of Family and Consumer Sciences Janet Fick said.
"The ideas were a little too expensive last time," Fick said. "We tried to get them a little more based in reality this time around."
Computer lab design opportunities don't seem to be drying up any time soon, and that's good for design students who are learning about the business, Fick said.
"We have a lot of ugly labs to work with apparently, and it's good because the students have to deal with real people," she said.
Fick said she is pleased with the benefits the computer lab design contests have brought to students in the interior design department.
"It's interesting to see the support the students have gotten from Computer Services," she said, "It's giving them opportunities they wouldn't otherwise have."
In the end, the judges chose a design created by juniors Jenny Swanson and Kristen Mackaac.
Swanson said even though the contest didn't have a prize as such, it still felt good to win.
"I think they gave out gift cards last semester," Swanson said, "but it's not all about respect. It's also good to get your name out there."
Ball State Campus Interior Designer, Dan Stephenson said designers would not be the only Ball State students to benefit from the redesigns.
"One of the problems we have integrating technology into our workplaces and classrooms is that it becomes this big mechanized thing," Ball State Campus Interior Designer, Dan Stephenson said. "We need to make technology more subservient."
Stephenson said if computer labs are left undesigned, they can often be dreary places for students to work.
"Sometimes they look like those rows of sewing machines you see in photos from the early 20th century," Stephenson said.
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