Final Thoughts

“And of all illumination which human reason can give, none is comparable to the discovery of what we are, our nature, our obligations, what happiness we are capable of, and what are the means of attaining it.”

Adam Weishaupt

How the built environment affects us, psychologically may be one of the most important factors of architecture and interior design.    In design we frequently speak of user experience, we are always asking “what would it be like to walk through this space?.”  The study of human response gives us some of those answers. 

As a designer understanding the physiological and psychological response that space and interaction can have on users is integral to creating successful environments. The study of human response can help us to understand what is appropriate and what will evoke the desired response from the user.  Having this knowledge and using it properly is the key to good design. Whether one looks at the effects of natural sun light on productivity or the psychology behind public housing, a good designer should understand why we feel the way we do and allow that to shape their design.

purposeful manipulation of human response in interior spaces

In The New Everyday: Views on Ambient Intelligence, Stephano Marzano had this to say about experience design:

An experience is not something that is fixed or identical for everyone, but rather something that is unique and individual.  The world we perceive and the way that we perceive it are both developed over time through experiences, and in turn colour those experiences. As a result, we cannot presume to develop solutions that dictate the experience someone will have; instead we have to anticipate and design towards these anticipated experiences.

(Marzano, p. 46)

The idea of experience design is an inherent part of museum and exhibit interiors.  While Marzano wasn’t necessarily writing about the experience of place his words are exceptionally relevant.  In designing spaces that should relay a message, depict an event or evoke a certain emotion, how can designers can anticipate what individuals will perceive?  I feel that the answer can be found in environmental psychology.  While individual experiences may differ the biological triggers for a human response are similar for all human beings, with some marginal differences due to cultural or personal preferences

 

Challenges of Human Response in Interiors of Institutions

Interior designers and architects alike design spaces with the best intent. The fact of the matter is once we hand over the keys, the space takes on a life of its own.  A life that may not be what we imagined.  The design of prison interiors is a prime example.  Award winning prisons are being designed around the world, taking into account natural light and softer furnishings, attempting to make the prisons seem more like a college dorm then an institution.    But once the governing agency takes over the facility they may not be able to make the scenarios you designed for a reality.

 

Case in point, the Roy McMurtry Youth Center designed in 2009 by Kleinfeldt Mychajlowycz Architects in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, just outside of Toronto.  According to archdaily.com the 40 hectare site which was originally a women’s prison is now set up to service 192 males and females between the ages of 12 and 17, and up to 300 staff.   The campus style facility was designed with the ideal of the Center which is commonly seen in educational environments.  The buildings on the campus include 6 new residential structures as well as two buildings that were used in the women’s prison.  Everything from the landscaping of the site down to the detail in the residence bathrooms was intended to promote “a healthy public understanding of the ideals of the institution and the residents understanding of their place in their society.” Despite all these design efforts the facility is understaffed and according to thestar.com , dealing with a number of problems.  To begin with the facility is understaffed.  The 22,000 square-foot facility employs 166 full-time employees, budget cuts have prevented them from employing the 200 that the facility needs to function.  Certain areas of the facility aren’t being used because there isn’t enough staff to run them.  The young people in the facilities also complain about the cold sleeping conditions and generally fear for their safety.

What can be done by designers to combat problems like these?   

Reference List:

http://www.archdaily.com/44035/roy-mcmurtry-youth-centre-kleinfeldt-mychajlowycz-architects/

http://www.kma.to/

http://www.thestar.com/investigation/article/723020--superjail-for-youth-raises-troubling-questions

Infection Control and Human Response in Healthcare Environments

Big Idea Alert! Big Idea Alert! In class the other day we were discussing how to design for infection control in health care environments.  Our teacher pointed us in the direction of a study that found that many surfaces in hospital rooms are not adequately cleaned between patients.  That means that the little old lady with walking pneumonia walked out of the hospital and left her little old germs behind to infect you!  After hospital cleaning crew were trained the amount of germs left on surfaces did decrease but there were still far too many surfaces that were left unclean. 

This lack of clean surfaces poses a threat to everyone’s health.  First the individual in the hospital, their current condition may make them more susceptible to infection.   Their visitors, coming to console their friend or family member may be unknowingly contracting a germ that will put them in the hospital too.  The last group of people subject to these persistent germs is the hospital staff.  As a child, no matter how sick I was, my mother never caught what I had; it was as though she was immune.  It seems as though we consider our healthcare professionals to be immune to the germs we carry but in fact, they are not.

Thankfully my classmates and I have come up with a solution to the problems with post-occupancy hospital room clean-up.  Have you heard of these germ killing UV lights? Sites like this one market them to allergy suffers. Allergybyersclub.com said this about the light:

This revolutionary invention removes 99.9% of germs and bacteria in only twenty seconds, using the effective sterilization power of UV-C light. Simply wave the lightweight and easy to use light wand over any surface to obtain a germ-free and sanitized home. The wand is also beneficial to the safety of your children and the environment since it uses no harmful chemicals to achieve a sanitized home for your family.

What a neat product right? Well why not take it to the next level? Install these lights in hospital rooms.  Between patients the rooms can be locked and treated with the UV lights which would kill 99.9% of germs in the rooms.  Even on the surfaces that the cleaning staff may have forgotten to wipe down.  I’m going to get to work on getting this new product on the market. Until UV-C lights are in hospital rooms everywhere read this article on how to stay safe from germs in hospitals, published by the American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services.

http://www.ahe.org/ahe/content/learn/09142009-es-week-ashes-apic.pdf

Human Response needs in Multi-family housing

When discussing problems with multi-family housing many people refer to inner city housing projects.  I ran across an article that had this to say:

Most policy experts agree these days that big public housing projects are noxious environments for their tenants… Housing projects radiate dysfunction and social problems outward, damaging local businesses and neighborhood property values. They hurt cities by inhibiting or even preventing these rundown areas from coming back to life by attracting higher-income homesteaders and new business investment. Making matters worse, for decades cities have zoned whole areas to be public housing forever, shutting out in perpetuity the constant recycling of property that helps dynamic cities generate new wealth and opportunity for rich and poor alike.

Public housing spawns neighborhood social problems because it concentrates together welfare-dependent, single-parent families, whose fatherless children disproportionately turn out to be school dropouts, drug users, non-workers, and criminals…Public housing then became a key component of the vast welfare-support network that gave young women their own income and apartment if they gave birth to illegitimate kids. As the fatherless children of these women grew up and went astray, many projects became lawless places, with gunfire a nightly occurrence and murder commonplace.

All of this is according to bigoted Howard Husock of City Journal in the 2003 article “How Public Housing Harms Cities”.  While making wildly rash generalizations Husock brings up an interesting idea.  If these areas are deemed to be public housing forever, why must they be a part of the “welfare-support network”?  I am here to present 2 other options for public housing, rooted in environmental psychology, that may provide a more stable and fruitful environment: co-operatives and subsidized housing for specific user groups. 

One of my good friends from graduate school recently moved into an artist’s community in Baltimore, Maryland.   Artists’ Housing Inc. is a co-op that was developed in 1984 when the Neighborhood Progress Administration/DHCD, the Mayor's Advisory Council on Art and Culture and Citizens for Washington Hill were able to obtain a low-intrest loan from HUD as well as several grants and contributions to renovate a series of historic storefront row houses. These units are open to all artists: painters, poets, installation artists, musicians, writers, graphic artists, photographers, sculptors, film makers, fiber artists, costume designers, set and lighting designers, dancers, teachers, arts administrators and architects.  To be considered for residency one must go through an interview process, present a portfolio and demonstrate financial need. This affordable housing option provides a solution to low-income multi-family housing other than blighted housing projects.  These artists are also more apt to participate in community activities and feel a since of ownership because they feel as though they belong to a group of like-minded individuals.   Much like in a design studio class you would ensure that no harm came to your classmates studio project in this type of living environment you would want to ensure the safety of your neighbors. 

Similarly, one may feel more protective of an area if one has legal ownership of all or part of that space (Gifford, 157). This is why homeowners may take better care of their property than a renter would. For that reason developing housing co-operatives in areas that once were public housing may have a positive impact on the neighborhoods.  In housing co-operatives one actually owns a part of the community and elects board members to have a say so in how that community is ran.  Doing this would allow the members of a community to feel more in control and have a sense of ownership of their neighborhood.  If theories are correct this would cause them to be more protective of their community’s and have positive effects on crime rates.       

Reference List:

http://www.city-journal.org/html/13_1_how_public_housing.html

http://www.1448.org/about/ahi.php

Gifford, Robert. Environmental psychology: principles and practice. 3. Canada: Optimal Books, 2002. 157. Print.

http://www.coophousing.org/DisplayPage.aspx?id=122&bMenu=76&bItem=122

Human Response of Children in the Built Interior Environment

I recently mentioned an article that I came across on trends in educational design. According to the article one of the trends that we may see in the next few years is changing grade spans.  The article suggests that the transition to a new school that children experience may have adverse effects on them. To avoid this many school districts are contemplating K-8 and K-12 configurations.  While this avenue no longer requires children to switch schools throughout their educational experience it now brings up other issues.   Children would no longer be in an environment with a maximum age difference of six years.   The age range would now span up to 14 years. Equipment and fixtures would have to fit people ranging in size from toddlers to full grown adults.  There would also have to be designed elements that separate the older and younger children.  Young children may feel uncomfortable in an environment with children that much older than them.  When I was in grade school transitioning from elementary to middle and middle to the high school was a rite of passage. What effect will taking that away have on children? 

Reference List:
http://www.edfacilities.org/pubs/trends2007.pdf

Human Response to Interior Learning Environments

I ran across an interesting document published by National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities that discussed educational trends that will be shaping the schools of the near future.  These twelve trends included ideas like: “Paper is Disappearing”, “Technology Goes Big Time” and “Special Education has gone mainstream”.  The trend that I felt was most pertinent to designers was: “Classrooms are Being Reconfigured”. If proven to be true, this trend would require a major revamping of the way schools are designed. 

Let’s first discuss how classrooms are being reconfigured.  When I was in grade school on the first day of school you always knew that there was going to be 20-30 other children in your class. How your teacher was assigned was unknown, it seemed as though a computer just divided up the 100 children in your grade and assigned them at random to the 4 teachers that taught that grade.  All the class rooms were in the same vicinity and all of the students were taught the same curriculum.  Well this trend suggests that those days are over.  Have you ever heard of the VARK learning test? It’s a series of questions that helps you discover how you best learn. “V” stands for Visual. “A” is Aural. “R” is Read/Write”.  “K” is Kinesthetic.  Well, this design trend would take the VARK learning test to the next level.   Your education would be catered to the way that you best learn.  Read/write and Aural students may still be in the classrooms we have seen for the last 50 years, but that’s where the similarities end.  If you were a visual learner you would need a classroom that included visually based learning apparatuses.  These rooms would be shaped primarily by technology. If you were a kinesthetic learner you would need a classroom that allowed for hands-on demonstrations and student participation.  Rooms like labs and shops would be the norm in that style of learning.

This will not only affect the classroom but the building as a whole.  Electrical and ventilation systems will have to be designed to accommodate state-of-the-art science labs and every student having a digital workstation at every desk.  But hey, these are just prospective trends.  Maybe nothing will change. Maybe our children will be learning in classrooms just like the ones we learned in. I doubt it, but maybe.

Reference List:

http://www.edfacilities.org/pubs/trends2007.pdf

http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire

Creating Comfort at Home

To make your home work for you, you have to arrange your home in the way that you work.  I have a long narrow room. At the end near the windows was a couch and loveseat with end tables,   set up kind of like a living room.  At the other end was my bed dresser and chest of drawers.  My television sat on the chest of drawers, in near the foot of my bed. My laptop lived on a TV tray at the foot of my bed.  This was my world; bed, TV and laptop, I rarely ventured outside of this 10 sqft area.  The problem was that with my computer at the end of my bed all-nighters were impossible.  I was literally already in the bed.  I got no work done at home.   So before the beginning of this quarter I re-arranged my bedroom.  I moved the living room furniture down around the television.  I moved my bedroom furniture down to the end of my room near the windows; I figured the sun would help me wake up in the morning. What I hadn’t counted on was my attachment to my television.  Many nights I end up asleep on my couch, in front of the TV.  I thought this furniture arrangement would fit the way I lived but I may have missed the mark.  When creating comfort at home you have to think about what you do every day and what is important to you.  But through it all you must remember that furniture can be re-arranged again and again.  When watching shows on television where people are looking to buy a house it always makes me laugh when people walk into a room and say “oh, I think my furniture will fit in here” or “I hate the color of these walls.”  These are not things that you should consider when purchasing a home.  If you’re spending $200,000 on a house you shouldn’t be concerned about a $2000 sofa or a $40 can of paint.  Think about the way you live and what your current and future needs are.  Buy a house based on those factors, not because you hate the carpet. 

Biophilia in furniture and furnishing design

Merriam-Webster defines biophilia as a hypothetical human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other forms of life in nature.  The University of Sheffield even conducted a study where it used neuroimaging to show the effects of scenes of nature on the brain compared to scenes of a man made environment with similar qualities.  This study proved that the brain responded positively to viewing natural scenes.  But how can biophilia be used in interior furniture or furnishing design to evoke human response? 

An Artscape Gallery based out of London has created what they call video paintings.  According to healthcaredesignmagazine.com  these framed videos taken by stationary cameras have “restorative, calming effects” because they “accurately display nature’s tempos.”  They are suggesting that placing the more cheerful images in healthcare environments would have positive effects on the patients.  Literally placing framed views of nature in a space is one way to incorporate biophilia in interior furnishings but it is not the only way.

Have you seen Gruppo Strum’s Pratone chair? If you’ve ever wanted to see grass from and ant’s point of view look no further.  The Pratone chair looks like manicured grass magnified 10,000 times.   According to designmatcher.com it is made of cold-foamed polyurethane and painted with varnish, so it’s not the most environmentally friendly thing you’ve ever heard of but short of rolling around in actual grass this is may be the next best thing.  But instead of spending $14,000 on magnified AstroTurf I’ll go outside and get close to real nature for free.

Refrence List:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biophilia
http://www.healthcaredesignmagazine.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=EEBFD510270548FAA117F1CE93F20743
http://www.shef.ac.uk/mediacentre/2010/1739.html
http://www.opengallery.co.uk/
http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/swishy-seating-get-lost-in-larger-than-life-lawn-lounger-giant-grass

human Response to Nature

In 2010 more than a quarter million people died at the hands of Mother Nature.  Earthquakes, floods, heat waves, blizzards and volcanoes took their toll all over the world in 2010.  If the earth was charging us for mistreating it we paid through the nose in 2010; damages came to around $222 billion.  Human beings are so intrinsically connected to nature yet we repeatedly mistreat the planet.  Not only do we mistreat the planet causing global warming and climate change but we don’t consider what the earth is capable of unleashing on us when we design.  Many of the lives lost to natural disasters in 2010 could have been saved if homes and buildings were constructed in a way that could withstand wind, water and seismic activity.  In tornado alley they design homes to withstand extreme winds; in San Francisco they design building to withstand major seismic activity.  Now that major natural disasters are occurring in some places where they haven’t in 100’s of years we should take these things into consideration when we design.   

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40739667/ns/us_news-2010_year_in_review/

educational environments...human response to sound and light

“If I turn off the lights will you guys fall asleep?” A statement frequently made by teachers in classroom everywhere, I would think.  Sound and light in an educational environment are major factors in performance.  According to Gifford’s Environmental Psychology basic information processing related to decision-making was better under daylight lamps than under fluorescent lamps.  People naturally gravitate toward natural light.  In climates where people have to live in darkness for months at a time many people experience Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD.  Sound in an educational environment can affect performance too.  We’ve all been in a classroom next to a noisy hallway or adjacent to a noisy classroom and been unable to focus.  According to Gifford noise effects the communication between student and teacher, interfere with the development of strategies for processing information, damaged ones sense of personal control and raise ones blood pressure semi-permanently. The effects of sound and light can be dramatic in interior spaces.  Because of the serious complications that could occur in learning environments as designers we must constantly consider these elements.  Today’s educational facilities are taking this into account. A major factor in LEED accreditation of educational environments is lighting.  Light shelves and mechanical regulators keep even amounts of lighting and natural light distributed all throughout the space.  Now if only we could go back and alter the classrooms that were built in the 1950’s and 60’s. The classrooms in my middle school didn’t even have windows.

Benefits of Good Ergonomic Design and Connection to Positive Human Response

Ergonomics is a lot more than comfy office chairs and funny looking computer keyboards. Have you ever been to a facility and thought nothing about it? I mean nothing in a good way.  Like the door opened in the direction you thought it should (you didn’t push when you should have pulled).  You didn’t have to look for the trashcan when it was time to throw something away.  The seat you sat in was comfortable, your butt didn’t even fall asleep and you were there for a while.  The work surface was the perfect height for the activity you were doing.  The heaviest items were stored at the right height so you didn’t have to bend and lift or worry about them falling on you from above when you bring them down.  Well, that’s ergonomics too.  Ergonomics isn’t just things that are easy to grab with your hands or scissors that work for lefties and righties, ergonomics is also how spaces are arranged and how easy things are reach and use.  A space that is well designed, ergonomically, won’t stand out in your mind.  You’re allowed to move through the space and perform the necessary functions in that space very naturally.  That’s ergonomics.

impact of poor ergonomics on human response to interior design

In an effort to make myself more comfortable I switched the chair that I sat in at my desk.  I traded in my adjustable, wheeled computer chair for a lower stationary chair that had arm rests.   I love chairs with armrests, they seem more cozy and relaxing.  So I switched my chair and at first it was awesome.  But yesterday I spent a lot longer working at my desk in my new chair than I had in the past.  After a few hours of lifting my arm from my armrest and reaching for my computer keyboard my shoulder was killing me.  I thought it was the fact that I hit it extra hard in the gym the night before so I stretched.  Still in pain. Then I thought about the presentation on ergonomics we had done a few days ago.  I looked at my arms and noticed they were not properly positioned.  I decided to switch back to the regular computer chair.  I got in the chair and adjusted the height so that my arms met the desk top at a perfect ninety degree angle and voilà my shoulder pain was gone.  Imagine if an interior designer had selected the low armchairs for a situation where people would be sitting at computer desks all day. Everyone would be walking around with their arm in a sling.    Different types of work require different working conditions.  A job where one is walking or standing should work at a higher work surface, such as a bar height desk, minimizing the up down activity they do to go from sitting at their desk to standing to walk around.  When selecting furniture, interior designers must consider more than aesthetics, ergonomics should always be at the forefront of a designers mind.

Benefits of Crowding in Interior Space

Have you ever given a performance to a sparse crowd? You’re searching for someone in the audience to connect with and all you see is empty chairs. This is the reason why many performance spaces have different size venues.  It also is more of a benefit for the person experiencing a performance.  Have you ever watched a movie alone and realized that it seemed much funnier when you saw it in a theater full of people or even a group of your friends at home.  Being in a group changes how you experience a space.  Imagine walking through a haunted house alone, you can hear every little noise, every experience is intensified you are nearly scared to death.  In that same haunted house with a group your surrounded by other people making you feel safe and allowing you to pay less attention to exactly what is going on around you (although in a haunted house you’re paying to be scared so one may or may not see that as a good thing).  Being in a group changes how you experience a space.  It alters your focus and may change your how you perceive an activity in an interior environment.

Designing for personal space in public interior spaces

I think it is difficult to design for personal space in public interior spaces.  Almost all the ways that this can be done involve seating. I did an observational study in the library and observed a variety of seating types.  There are two types of seating arrangements, sociopetal and socieofugal.  A sociopetal setting facilitates social interaction and a socieofugal setting discourages social interaction.  In an instance that you are attempting to promote social interaction you should incorporate sociopetal seating groups, groups where the involved parties are facing each other or where they are side by side.  These types of seating groups encourage interaction.  Like a four top table in a restaurant or cafeteria, or two couches in a lounge or lobby that face each other. If you are designing a place where you do not want people to interact you should create sociaofugal seating groups.  In a sociofugal seating group people would be back to back or use elements to prevent direct eye to eye or auditory contact.  Sociofugal groups would include booths at a restaurant with very high backs or cubicles at an office that give each person their own individual space.

Touch

Call me crazy but I walk around my house with my eyes closed all the time.  It started when I was young, my great-grandmother was blind and I guess I wanted to see what it was like.  I watched her move slowly and carefully through the house using only her hands to guide her.  She knew what things were and where she was by only using her sense of touch.  Today as a designer I frequently think of how to design for the visually impaired.  After visiting Dialogue in the Dark, an experiential exhibition in Atlantic Station, I think about it even more.  I feel that incorporating tactile design elements would be a helpful solution.  An inherent part of many tactile design elements is added visual texture.  By using tactile elements along walls and on floors it could almost act as those strips on the highway that let you know you’re going too far over or that a stop sign is up ahead, tactile elements could be used to inform both visually impaired and sighted individuals that they are approaching something.  In many places tactile elements are used unknowingly.  For example in a large open area where the only thing that differentiates different zones is changes in flooring, it may shift from carpet to tile.   Tactile design elements can be a very helpful tool.

5 Elements of the city...inside

According to Kevin Lynch's The Image of the City a city having 5 distinct elements make it easier to navigate and mentally map. A question posed in class was can those elements be translated into interior spaces and if so how would they work. To explore this I am going to think about the main building here at SCAD Atlanta and how those elements translate into space in the building at 1600 Peachtree St.
Paths. The routes along which people travel
In any interior environment one could say that hallways could be thought of as paths. For 1600 Peachtree I'll take it a step further. Some of the corridors and other main areas that students traverse everyday are wider than the typical hallways. In those areas a path with in a path exists. For example, the hallway outside of the Hub, during a case study that I performed last year I discover that the majority of students come from the hallway that leads from the parking deck and cross it diagonally into the Hub. This is a path within a path.



Edges. Non-traveled lines
In any interior space the walls automatically serve as the edges. At 1600 Peachtree this holds true, however; once you get into individual departments walls may not exist. The edges are then formed by the way that furniture is arranged which then serves as an edge by defining a certain space.


Districts. Moderate-sized areas that city residents identify as having a particular character
Districts in an interior environment can be defined in a number of ways: materiality, spatial organization, and function, to name a few. This is demonstrated at 1600 Peachtree. Each department forms a district. In that way there is an interior design district, a fashion district, a photography district and so on. These districts are frequently defined by being on their own individual floors and each floor is then defined by a different color: the 2nd floor is orange, the 3rd lime green and the 4th floor is pale blue. These districts are thoroughly defined using materiality and function.


Nodes. Well-known points that people travel to and from
At 1600 Peachtree the primary node would be the Hub. Its name is rather appropriate. To traverse from one section of the building to another one must pass through the hub. It is a large open space that houses the cafeteria, coffee shop and a lounge area for students that includes pool tables and chairs for napping. The hub is frequently used as a point to orient one's self and it is an area where people frequently gather in and around.


Landmarks. Easily viewed elements, even on a grand scale
At 1600 Peachtree the term Landmark and Node could be interchangeable. The hub also serves as a landmark. When given directions people are told to go to or thru the hub to get to where ever they need to go. The elevators may also serve as landmarks because they are located on every floor at the same place on every floor. The elevators could also be considered nodes. In other interior spaces landmarks could vary such as a large atrium or another focal point.

People in Places

Place: Baroni Casual Italian

Baroni Casual Italian is a quiet (at times) Italian restaurant located on the corner of a mixed use development in midtown Atlanta. The area is predominately Caucasian with a median household income of about $50,000 a year. 94% of residents in that area have a high school education or higher. 60% of residents work in management or a professional setting and the average age is 33 years old. In mid day Baroni is quiet. The servers and kitchen staff gather around the bar and converse, joking with one another quietly. Occasional bursts of laughter or a comment to a friend in the distance can be heard over the soft music. At the dinner rush Baroni is full of a variety of people. An older couple and their 30 something daughter and son-in-law sit at a booth deciding what to order. The server pulls up a chair and helps them decide what to eat. They nibble bread and look at the art work on the wall, all black and white photographs with pops of red being the only color. Their food comes and they enjoy it, ordering another bottle of wine for the table once they finish. As they leave they tell the server and hostess they will be back.

 

Place: The Norva

The Norva plays host to a variety of musical groups, from local bands to internationally known super stars. Its located in downtown Norfolk, Virginia just a few blocks from the waterfront. The surrounding properties are primarily businesses including the McArthur Center Mall. The inhabitants of the area are diverse. 66% of the population is Black and 30% is Caucasian. The area has a Median household income of $27,000 a year and the average age of inhabitants is 32 years old. But because of the caliber of talent performing at the Norva people come from all over the Hampton Roads area for performances. Tonight the Roots are performing and a young lady is going with her friends to celebrate her birthday. The band was amazing. The show seemed to last forever (in a good way). The air was full of a mixture of cigarette smoke and fog from the stage filled the air in the industrial concert hall. The night was perfect, until someone from the balcony dropped a beer and it landed directly on the group of girls. Thankfully no major damage was done. Afterward the girls grabbed a bite to eat at a restaurant nearby on Granby Street. Despite smelling like beer, fun was had by all.

 

Place: The Fayette Pavilion

Located in a quiet suburb of Atlanta the Fayette Pavilion is an open air shopping facility that serves as the focal point of Fayetteville, Georgia. Fayette County has an average household income of nearly $68,000 a year and the average age of its residents is 41 years old. It is 76% Caucasian and 64% of its residents are married. Fayetteville does not have a public transportation system so it is a very car oriented community. A young man has planned a date for a girl he just met in the Fayetteville area. He decided they would eat at LaParilla, a Mexican restaurant in the Pavilion and then head over to Cinemark Tinseltown 17, the Pavilions movie theater. Before heading to LaParilla to meet his date the gentleman went and picked up 2 movie tickets for the 9:15 showing of a new release. He waited in the entry of the festive restaurant, each time the door opened his heart skipped a beat, but his date never came. After nearly 2 hours of waiting he took himself to the 9:15 movie. After leaving the movie he drove across to the Walmart in the Pavilion where he looked at his phone and read a text message from his date. She had been waiting at the LaParilla 20 miles away in McDonough!

 

Place: Eastwood Towne Centre

Eastwood Towne Centre is a newer open air shopping mall located in between Lansing and East Lansing Michigan. The area surrounding Eastwood Towne Centre, or Eastwood as the locals call it, has an average household income of around $35,000 and the median age of its residents is 32 and 84% of residents have a high school education or higher. A local college student needed to visit a few of stores in Eastwood on a picture perfect summer day. The first store that she needed to visit was DSW Shoe Warehouse. She parked her car in a space not too far from the door and walked inside. She finished making her purchases and returned to her car. How unfortunate, she thought to herself, on this perfect summer day it would be ideal to walk to another store but DSW was on the southern most side of the mall and to get to the other stores she would have to walk across a sea of parking lots which was out of the question. After deciding that driving was the only option she reached the other side of the mall only to find that all the parking near the stores she wanted to visit was full. She waited 12 minutes before finding a space, in that time she could have just walked from the other side of the mall.

 

Place: New Birth

Lithonia, Georgia is home to New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. Lithonia is a suburb of Atlanta with an average household income of $55,000 dollars and its population is 88% Black. 90% of its inhabitants have completed high school diploma or higher and the average age is 32 years old. Early Sunday morning a family piled into their car and made the 10 minute ride to New Births Campus. They pulled onto the lot along with a long line of cars. They walked into the building and filed into a seat in the middle of the sanctuary. As they waited for church to begin they looked around at all the people milling around, the massive sanctuary, some with important places to go other looking for a friendly face to speak to. Announcements played on the large screens and the lights on the stage illuminated the church logo in alternating colors. One couldn't help but feel small in a place this large. Once church began they found themselves looking at the large screens more than the actual stage; at that distance the screens are easier to see. The service was nice. It lifted everyone's spirits.

 

Place: Saint Peters Basilica

As a part of a tour of Rome a group of Architecture students are touring Saint Peters Basilica. Saint Peters Basilica is located in Vatican City, a land locked city state located in Rome, Italy. Vatican City has approximately 600 full time inhabitants 74% of which are clergy. The Vatican is a very popular destination for tourism and religious pilgrimages. After moving thru crowds of people and waiting in a long line the students finally made it into the Basilica, the afternoon sunlight streamed thru the high windows and shined like a spotlight on the marble floors. The students were amazed at the intricate details. They took 100's of pictures. They felt so small in under the high ceilings and ornate domes it was almost like experiencing the greatness of God. It was an experience that they will never forget.