Design Description
I) Research questions (list 2):
When designing streets for children, how can the environment be enriched with stimulations and textures that increase a child’s cognitive skills?
How can streets be better designed to remove or minimize risk to life-threatening conditions, and promote physical and mental well-being for kids and their caregivers?
A significant amount of the brain’s architecture is shaped in the first three years of life. This is when children grow and learn the fastest. An environment rich with stimulation such as colors, patterns, and textures is foundational for a child’s cognitive skills. By including interventions that encompass all sensory phenomena, the designed street will better support the needs of the children. Most important to the incorporation of phenomena is that it is scaled to the children. An average three-year-old child is 95 cm tall, so what they see, and experience is different than an adult. They are closer than adults to vehicle exhaust, building utilities, trash cans, paving, and other details, experiencing these more intimately due to their heights. By considering these differences in scale, phenomena such as light should be included closer to ground level, where children can interact with them more closely. Well-designed streets encourage everyday experiences to invite more meaningful interactions and social connections among children, caregivers, and their environments.
To investigate the design process physical models for light, Arduino sensors for sound decibals, and digital light simulation on Vray will be utilized. Furthermore, the best way to test each phenomena will be through observations of children on different types of streets. Observing how children interact with elements on the street will help to better understand nuances in learning opportunities. For example, a sidewalk without a pedestrian crossing or ramp will make walking an unsafe option for children, but a new mural on a blank wall might spark a conversation between a child and their caregiver, a well-placed bench might provide a spot for much needed rest, and a pattern of markings on utility poles might help a child with learning directions.
2) Background theory
- Data dimension: accessing urban data and making it accessible: This reading helped me to understand the complexity behind the properties of data: its structural qualities, the social context of its generation, and its inherent technical and non-technical biases. Its filtered delivery back to the environment is as crucial as the means of collecting it. Applied to the design, the light sensors will need to be scaled in different sizes, the colors will need to change depending on the pollution concentrations and the intensity will change depending on the need to warn users.
- New Horizons: After reading this article, I tried to use the daily human activity of the residents from Cinca to inform the geometric form. Passive mobility was crucial to the design.
- The Phenomena of Place: To design a more comprehensive space, the senses and characteristics had to be considered first at Cinca. The material palette was crucial to first understand based on Carrer del Cinca’s different textures and how that could be further enhanced to create a more safe and comfortable design.
3) Contextualization: Data driven urban light design:
4) Data Collection
- Observations: softness increased feelings of safety and comfort, while hardness caused for more caution. The roughness of materials also increased awareness and caused feelings of concern.
- Application: Applying texture phenomena to the site will further support the light sensors to warn users about safety. It can also be applied to design spaces more comfortable that provide feelings of playfulness and calmness.
5) How to test your intervention?
- Installation of lights at different heights that are connected to sensors. The color and intensity of the lights will relay information about noise and NO2 pollution to the public about the safety of the space.
- Using lights and different materials will also help to provide sensory information on whether the space is safe. Transitions of materials will also allow for greater awareness of safety vs times of caution.
- Increasing the roughness of textures and the hardness of spaces will provide another prompt about the safety of a space.
- Incorporation of phenomena that it is scaled to a child’s height (comfort and safety).
6) Findings
- Transitions of materials and lights will be important to prompt children and their caregivers about the change in safety.
- Communication of the design must be rendered at night to showcase the lighting features.
- Rendering must show different pollutions and how the light responds to relay information to the public.
- Play space must be located at the furthest point from both of the roads.
7) Conclusions
What are your expected outcomes?
- Data-informed design that increases the awareness of the caregivers and the children about the safety of the space.
- Sensors will be placed according to different pollution sources.
- Light sensors will vary in height and scale to allow for further interaction depending on the user.