In 2017, the campus parking garages were the theater of six suicide by jumping attempts. These incidents led the university to not only examine the security of its parking garages but also engage in a more serious reflection of
mental wellness on its campus. Since then, access to the rooftops of garages has been restricted, barriers have been added to prevent further falls, security foot patrols and campus police presence were increased, and permanent signs with the Ohio State University counseling hotline number were also placed in all stairwells of multilevel parking garages. In design terms, the university’s actions are considered coercive (or direct) strategies that enforce certain modes of use or limit unwanted behaviors.
The actions taken by the university are commendable. Unfortunately, such interventions do not directly address the first recommendation of the Mental Health Task Force, which aims to establish a culture of care in which suicide prevention is an entire community effort that encourages students, faculty, and staff to reach out and check in with one another. As designers, we argue that chain-link fencing, police presence, and prominent signage should be counterpoints to a culture of care. Moreover, because mental health is a multidetermined and complex social problem, prevention issues require innovative thinking and solutions.
In search of new ways to address suicide, several innovative experiments have been conducted. These experiments led us to examine an approach of place-making wherein experience design and motivational solutions may contribute to addressing the parking garage situation and embracing a culture of care. In this collaborative studio, students were tasked to engage in the development of innovative environmental solutions to address user experiences of the parking garage. To include the university community, students also facilitated a two-day codesign workshop and prototyped potential solutions. The outcome of the course aimed at the development of an exhibition and a publication presenting the ideas that were developed.
INSTRUCTOR
Sebastien Proulx
Susan Melsop
TERM
Spring 2020
CLASS NUMBER
Design 4650
SPECIFIC LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this studio-based course were to expose students to fundamental principles of design in terms of ways of thinking and doing. In this studio, we sought to cultivate self-awareness and foster emotional intelligence. We explored and developed each of these through mindfulness practices and reflective writing exercises. We anticipated that cultivating care for self and others in the studio would foster and generate a culture of care in the classroom and beyond.
COURSE OUTCOMES
Through a common project, students collaborated to develop innovative solutions using their critical, creative, and practical senses. In this course, students worked toward the realization of two projects enabling them to expend their design knowledge and skills. They were also asked to write a personal essay on the value of design as a bridge between disciplines and address the problems of hypermodernity.
COURSE OUTCOMES
Through a common project, students collaborated to develop innovative solutions using their critical, creative, and practical senses. In this course, students worked toward the realization of two projects enabling them to expend their design knowledge and skills. They were also asked to write a personal essay on the value of design as a bridge between disciplines and address the problems of hypermodernity.
Codesign
As this project aimed to engage and include the voices
of the university community, students organized and
facilitated a participatory design workshop. Through
this activity, students had the opportunity to apply the
knowledge and skills they had previously developed.
Prototype Development
Building on the ideas develop with participants during
the Garage-O-Remix workshop, students divided into
interdisciplinary teams to further develop and polish
motivational strategies to transform parking garage
spaces. While the intent was for students to physically
fabricate components of their prototypes, the COVID-
19 pandemic changed our plan. Instead, design efforts
were redirected on developing use scenarios and visual
storytelling to express proposed plans of interventions.
Documentation
Part of this project was the development of an exhibition,
a book, and a website by a subset of students who were in
charge of documenting the studio process and designing
the communication materials.