Designing the Spaces that Design Us

Project Type
Research + Critical Design + Poetry + Collage

This is a poetic exploration of the intertwining effects of philosophy and design. It was born out of an awareness of, and fascination with, the relationship between design and being. Particularly, the ways that designs design, i.e., the ways the decisions of design afford certain ways-of-being. This is art informed by place-based research. Art that explores being amidst ambiguity and construct(s). Art that explores design amidst order and disorder. Art that explores the interplay between it all.

Role
MFA Candidate
Parsons, The New School

Project Timeline
Aug, 2019 - Mar, 2020

Hinge Mind — A Poetic Examination of a Designed System at Play

Research Question

In what ways do underlying design philosophies and decisions for public spaces design the ways-of-being in, around, and beyond such spaces?

 

Approach

This research leveraged:

  1. A review of the literature on civic and urban theory, ontological design, cultural hegemony, existentialism, anarchy, ethics, poetic knowledge, and the practices of everyday life; and

  2. Site surveys, ethnographic observation, interviews, cultural probes, poetic phenomenology, fluxus performance research, and secondary media analysis.

 

Outcomes

This research heavily influenced the development of The Playful Designer project.

It also served as a means for expanding my own thinking and methods as a researcher, artist, and designer.

Poetic ‘Case Study’ 1: An evaluation of the New York City High Line

Poetic ‘Case Study’ 3: An evaluation of The Yard on Governors Island

Poetic ‘Case Study’ 2: An evaluation of the 9th Street Community Garden Park

 

A series of poetic ‘case studies’ which evaluate and represent the design organization, aesthetic, experience, and effects of three comparative public spaces.