Building For Every Body.
September - May. 2016
Cambridge. Massachusetts
As work becomes more and more dependent on technology, and as the distinction between work and leisure grows increasingly opaque, the amount of time spent sedentary reaches a disconcerting high. My interest in movement was peaked as a response to the number of concerns I heard expressed in the workplace, for pain, discomfort, and an inability to concentrate, but more so to the excuse of every other fault there was to blame outside of blaming the environment in which we dwell. The project sought inspiration from affordance in nature, which affords the body range in scale for intensity of flexion, framework for movement through, and means of interaction. The final design enables optimal performance through stabilization of the body at rest, and variability in the mobilization of the body while engaged.
Architecture
Experience
Brand
Product
Graphics
Strategy
Research
Pitch
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The final presentation consisted of a 60-minute demonstration with a history of our ancestral movement, a discussion of my process to identify the problem, and a conversation over the opportunities to improve movement in the workplace, using a physical model, section perspectives, axonometric diagrams, illustrative renders, and a fully designed publication of the research and final material.
The thesis was multi-disciplinary in its process, drawing from such fields as physical therapy, ergonomics, education, dance and choreography, neuroscience, biomechanics, and kinesiology. I combined what I learned from these fields with my experience and observations within the built environment, and pursued a design project that prioritized the human body and its need to move.
Sketch from above of the new primary studio workspace demonstrates variety of ways the individual can stand, sit, squat, kneel, lay, and move constantly while work is being performed
Sketch of the new classroom space demonstrates how a designed landscape can become productive grounds for sitting, standing, or computing for work, rather than being restricted to a rigid chair and desk
Illustration of the new cafe shows various options for sitting and standing while eating and resting the brain
Sketch from above of the new primary studio workspace demonstrates variety of ways the individual can stand, sit, squat, kneel, lay, and move constantly while work is being performed