a pop-up kit
1. The space was missing a sense of place and identity, and it certainly didn’t feel like an environment for creativity and collaboration.
In the Fall of 2010, Pratt Institute began the first year of its MFA program in Communications Design and we were four of its inaugural students. As in any MFA program, we were confronted with the rigor of studio classes, the sometimes-overwhelming workload, and the challenge of figuring out where we stand in the world of design. In addition to these academic and existential challenges, the physical location of the program was in flux. As MFA students, we were going to be given individual studio workspace, a computer lab and printing facilities and a large classroom for lectures and critiques. But it wasn’t until a few weeks after the beginning of the semester that the program officially moved into the new Pratt studios at 123 West 18th Street.
While the move was met with gratitude and relief, it also opened up a new set of problems. The space’s white walls and anonymous look felt more isolating than inviting, and the overall studio layout was awkward. The main space was large and open, but there were no focal intersection points that serve as natural gathering spaces. Two windowless rooms were designated as student lounges, but they were too small, clumsy, and out-of-the-way to function as water-cooler areas. Students ate at their desks; the kitchen was a blank wasteland where only a tiny water machine lived and humans rarely visited. Event posters were scattered haphazardly throughout the space, each one dwarfed by the immense blank wall it was pinned to. There was no centralized place to eat, to gather, to lounge, to “not work.” In short, the space was missing a sense of place and identity, and it certainly didn’t feel like an environment for creativity and collaboration.
In response to these observations (and as part of our Transformation Design studio course), we came up with two ideas for solutions that could encourage community-building, cooperation and sharing, and help give each student a sense of ownership of the studio space. Utilizing both the main room of the studios, where classes are held, and any of the smaller rooms in the studio space, we aimed to set up a Workshop Series and a Rotating Pop-Up Space. Our goal for both of these projects was to provide a sustainable model and a few test cases, so that after an introductory period, the projects could continue on with new organizers and participants. 1. Workshop Series: We would invite varied guests or knowledgeable students to come into the studio space and teach short workshops on skills or ideas that will help students’ overall well-being, such as meditation, yoga or cooking. 2. Rotating Pop-Up Space: We would designate a pop-up space within the studio space and open it up to all students as a free area where they could create a project, store or experience for the studio community. The pop-ups would rotate on an as-needed basis to give more students the chance to participate.
After deciding to move forward with both ideas, we spent an afternoon brainstorming ideas for health-related experts and began putting together a schedule of events and lists of responsibilities for each of us. As we started organizing and planning, we realized that the Workshop Series felt like too much work for too little pay-off—and, more importantly, it was completely unsustainable. If the four of us were balking at the hours and energy required to make the series work, there was no way another student was going to produce a workshop after we were gone. We decided instead to focus our efforts entirely on the Pop-Up Space.
If the pop-up space could work in a room with such extreme limitations, it would be a perfect test case.
We contacted Jeff Bellantoni, Chair of the Graduate Communications Design Program (and our go-to for questions about the new studio space), about the use of a small room that was currently designated as a lounge. The room had a large, floor-to-ceiling window onto the rest of the studio space, which we felt would allow the projects inside the space greater visibility. We were given permission to use the space, but due to building regulations, we could not use any pushpins, nails or any adhesives other than artists’ tape on the walls. We could move the leather couches and bookshelf that were in the space at the time, but we had to move them back in after the events had ended. Despite these constraints, we moved forward with our project. If the pop-up space could work in a room with such extreme limitations, it would be a perfect test case for pop-up spaces in other contexts.
2.
We came up with a name and a modular identity that would reflect the range and flexibility of the space.
Every design student knows that the first thing a project needs is a logo. We came up with a name, BIG + little: a pop-up space, and a modular identity that would reflect the range and flexibility of the space. To launch the space, we knew that we would need more than a few scattered posters. Making students aware that BIG + little existed was only one part of the process. We also needed to show them the variety of projects the space could host, and give them memorable examples of projects that engaged the studio community. We decided to announce BIG + little’s birth with neon fliers on each student’s desk, an email to the entire Pratt GradComD student body, and a blitz of events the first week of the launch. We posted a calendar inside the room with the days of our own events filled in and hoped that during the course of our blitz, students would feel inspired to sign up for days to host their own projects.
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During our first week, we presented a studentproduced installation piece, a Pratt-branded tote bag customization workshop, a DIY aura coloring book station, and a day when we filled the room with balloons and candy. Each project was specifically designed to engage with the studio community: students proudly hung their customized tote bags at their desks and more than one impromptu photo project was born in the balloon room. By the end of the blitz, four students had signed up to present projects, one even spanning the course of a week. Perhaps the most exciting part of watching BIG + little take flight was the fact that every one of the projects other students produced in the space reached out to the studio community. Whether it was a jewelrymaking table, plans for a knitting club or an interactive installation that helped students motivate each other with notes of inspiration, the events were even more directly about creating community than we had planned. It felt like our idea landed with both feet.
Do-It-Yourself Aura Coloring Day Rebecca Wiener Wednesday, November 3, 2010 10am - 6pm
Using pages and labeled crayons I made for my DIY Aura Coloring Book for Visual Language, I set up a DIY aura coloring station in the pop-up space. All day long, students came in to color how they were feeling. By the end of the day, the space had a wall full of vastly different interpretations on aura coloring. Some people remarked that it was relaxing to color and they had a nice mini-break. And passers-by smiled when they saw the collection of colored pages.
This event was really easy for me to produce because I already had the materials and activity idea from a previous project for a class. And it actually helped me think about that project in some new ways.
3.
We want to continue to give our peers the chance to hold their own events.
As the two weeks of our BIG+little project come to a close, we want to make sure the pop-up space can survive after we have moved on to the next assignment. There has been considerable interest from the Pratt studio community, especially after seeing the myriad events that have been held in the space already, and we want to continue to give our peers the chance to hold their own events. To that end, we have decided to keep the calendar up in the space, rotating it out for a new one every month, and we will remain as contacts for anyone who wants to host a new event for the remainder of the Fall 2010 semester. In the past two weeks, photos of BIG + little have popped up on Facebook. We were delighted to see that the space was taking on a life on the Internet and we discussed creating a Facebook page for the space. But while it would certainly allow for increased publicity of events, giving BIG + little real estate online goes against the concept of the space: to bring the Pratt community together in the studio, not on the Internet. We decided against creating a page at this time, but it could be a more useful option in the future if enough participants were interested in keeping an accessible record of events and photos.
So what happens to BIG + little next semester or after we’ve graduated? Taking our own process into account and considering the specific needs of the Pratt West 18th Street studio community, we’ve come up with a list of steps for anyone who wants to continue the life of the BIG+little: a pop-up space. For the maintenance of BIG + little at Pratt, we suggest the following options: 1. The project will be adopted by the Communications Committee, who will act as contact for anyone who has questions about the space. 2. The documentation folder will be kept in the Communications Design office, so that anyone who wants to set up a new event may access the materials themselves. 3. The Lab Monitors already working in the studio space will keep the documentation materials, and they will act as contact for anyone who wants to set up a new event in the space.
While it is essential to the original aim of the project that BIG + little live on at Pratt, we hope that we have successfully created a pop-up space template that can used in other locations in need of communitybuilding. Schools of all levels could benefit from pop-up spaces for student projects. But the corporate office environment feels like a natural next step for this project. Even though the corporate and business world is moving towards collaboration and group work, too often offices are still cold, isolating and not conducive to communication. The introduction of a pop-up space in such an environment could help employees feel connected to each other, to the space and to the company, and give them a sense of ownership and individuality within their workplace. To this end, we created a list of ingredients required for anyone to create their own pop-up space.
Too often offices are still cold, isolating and not conducive to communication.
Ingredients for a Pop-Up Space 1. Space. BIG+little requires space. We recommend it be installed in a room of its own, preferably one in a high-traffic, high-visibility location. 2. Permission. Equally important is permission to set up the space. Installing BIG+little is not just about giving space a new life; it is about energizing a community and encouraging individuals to spend time with each other outside of their routines. In high-stress work environments, a space like BIG+little might be welcome, but if the culture of the community does not allow for time spent at will, the project will fail. We believe that BIG+little would be successful in corporate environments that allow for creativity and flexibility, but it would also function well in academic settings, and possibly private spaces as well. 3. Initiators and Authority. BIG+little requires a minimum of two people to set it up: one Initiator or Organizer, who is responsible for bringing the project into the space, and one Authority, whose job is to say yes to everything. We see the Initiator as someone who brings this new idea into an established but community-lacking setting. The Initiator needs to be prepared to produce a week or two of events in the space to show the larger community how it can function. The Authority as someone who is integral to the established community but who has an interest in encouraging the project to be set up, such as an office manager or group leader. For our test case, the four of us acted as Initiator, and Jeff Bellantoni acted as Authority.
4. Documentation and Organization Forms. This folder includes a number of sheets to be used to establish any proper space as a BIG+little pop-up space. Blank copies of these sheets (calendar sheets, documentation forms) should be kept in the pop-up space for ease of access. Calendar sheets should be marked with the month and days and pinned (or taped) up in the pop-up space for participants to use as a sign-up sheet. All participants who hold an event are required to fill out a documentation form upon completion of their event. The completed forms should be placed in a separate folder in the space so that potential participants can see what has been done in the space so far. 5. Signage and Promotional Materials. We recommend that signage and promotional materials be created with the BIG+little logo provided on the CD in this kit. The identity is purposefully modular; we encourage you to create your own circle sizes and organization of information. The space should be marked with these circles to designate it as a special space, but the circles may also be used as flyers, posters, or in any other way deemed appropriate for promotion. We recommend they be printed on white or neon paper. 6. Culture and Environment. It is very important that BIG+little be established in a location where it is allowed to function as a respite from day-to-day activities. This means not only that managers (or others who have authority in their respective environments) allow their employees (or students, etc.) to spend time in the pop-up space during normal hours, but also that there is a desire within the environment for a greater sense of community. But whatever the environment, BIG+little is a simple low maintence way to invite personal investment and ownership in a space and thus, a community.
a pop-up space
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a p-up ace
a pop-up space
Notes:
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