Mapping the Biltmore Estate

The Biltmore Estate is the largest privately held property in the United States. It is nestled on 120,000 acres the home has 111 rooms and 43 bathrooms. Today this estate is a popular tourist destination just east of Asheville, North Carolina. This destination could be a   logistic nightmare  for tourists if it wasn’t for the detailed mapping system that Biltmore Estate has put into action. Let’s investigate further…..

Map of Asheville, North Carolina. The Biltmore Estate is identified by the ‘pin’ in the map.

The property of the Biltmore Estates has many attractions, bike paths, hiking trails, horse stables, hotel, shopping district, and the Estate itself. They implement many different ways to help with wayfinding throughout the property and estate itself.

The Biltmore Estate

When you first enter the property you are directed to stop at the reservations and ticket office. Along with your tickets you are given a map of the property with roads and how to get to popular destinations. The map outlines how to get to all popular areas in a 3 mile connector model (circulation analysis), with stop off points along the way to take in the scenery or go for a hike.

The Connector model map of the Biltmore. All popular destinations are on a 3 mile loop around the property.

After leaving the ticket office you are directed to head toward the Estate with a clear pattern of signs. These signs make your travel to the main destination easy and display your travel time in minutes to destination, rather than distance.

The directional signs of the Biltmore Estate show distance in time rather than length.

When you get to the Estate itself and begin a tour of the home you are given another map. this time it’s the floor plan of the Biltmore Estate, with each room clearly numbered. These numbers symbolize the flow of traffic through the Estate, and how the curator wants a visitor to experience the Estate. Before you begin your tour there is an option to do an audio tour while you walk the Estate, the numbered rooms on your map are also symbols to enter on your audio device, when pressed correctly the audio device explains in detail the importance of each room.

This is a floor plan of the Biltmore Estate, notice how each room is clearly numbered. This symbolizes the recommended traffic flow to ensure visitors experience the entire home.

Once done with the Estate tour, you must refer back to the map that is given to you at the reservations and ticking office. This will show you how to go elsewhere on the property. For our tour we decided to navigate to the Winery and shopping plaza.

We used the map again as a connector model to help navigate towards the shopping plaza, however once there the map focused in on the shopping area and became a district model for us to identify which shops we wanted to enter.

The signs of the shopping plaza clearly identify what each building had to offer. For instance, Cedric’s Tavern in the shopping area has a sign that clearly identifies it as a place to eat. The word association of “Tavern” typically means a place to eat a meal.

The Cedric’s Tavern sign clearly identifies that this is building is a place to enjoy a bite to eat.

The use of signage and maps of the Biltmore Estate are a necessity in wayfinding throughout the property. It could turn a weekend getaway into a frustrating trip if one had to navigate the property without the help of maps and clear signs.

Live, Work, Walk the Little Sugar Creek Greenway

The Little Sugar Creek Greenway is a 19 mile walking path which connects North Tryon street to the South Carolina border. The section I am focusing on is the second stage of the Greenway from E. 7th Street to Morehead. The creation of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway correlates with the City of Charlotte’s master plan to restore the river, which was previously converted into an underground river in the 1960’s. Following Los Angeles’s lead to recreate their nature spaces (see L.A. River) Charlotte began this project in the mid 2000’s and this section was finalized in 2010.

The revitalized Little Sugar Creek, bridge crossing, and pathway under 4th Street.

Little Sugar Creek Map

The entrance to the Little Sugar Creek Greenway from East 7th Street welcomes you to explore the space. A simple, well designed park is placed between the entrance to the Greenway and Kings Road. This space is dotted with park benches, trash cans, public art and an impeccable view of the city. I noticed many workers from Central Piedmont Community College and other local businesses coming here to take in the city and enjoy their lunch. Alongside joggers I notice people who look be using the greenway as a commuter route for people getting to work in Uptown Charlotte and the surrounding areas.

The entrance to the Greenway from Kings Dr. offers great views of Uptown Charlotte, and a park to let patrons enjoy the space.

If you walk the Greenway south from E. 7th street you will pass the Metropolitan, a mixed use commercial/residential space. The Greenway fits nicely into this space as it allows for easy on and off access to the Metropolitan. This part of the Greenway is quiet and peaceful as it’s nestled far enough away from busy Kings Dr. One could imagine walking this section of the Greenway to one of the many restaurants on a weekend, allowing for an enjoyable night out without the need of an automobile.

Panoramic view of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway from the Metropolitan entry way.

Continue south towards Morehead the path begins to run parallel with Kings Dr. as the density of space becomes an issue for greenspace. The design of the Greenway through this final section to Morehead Rd. takes the lack of space into consideration and murals, kiosks, a bell tower and other simple ascetic tools are used to allow people using the Greenway to keep distracted from the busy street.

A kiosk with information of the Greenway.

The kiosks along the Little Sugar Creek Greenway inform patrons of the history and revitalization of the stream.

When reviewing this space for class I took Fleming’s questions to ask when designing a public space into consideration and came up with the conclusion that the City of Charlotte did a superb job at designing this space, allow me to elaborate.

The functionality and complexity of this space allows it to be used by a variety of users, this was examined further when I noticed people enjoying the space on their lunch breaks, joggers getting exercise, and commuters using the space to walk to work. The is also a clear sense of direction upon this space where as, it will take a traveler to many important destinations throughout the city including, shopping, parks, dining, entertainment, work, school and in a dire instance a hospital (CMC Main).

This area that does it’s best to sustain an environment away from the busy life that Midtown Charlotte portrays, for the most part it is hard to notice the traffic of the busy streets to the North of the Greenway, the access point to the Metropolitan allows for easy access on and off the Greenway however it’s distance is far enough away to not become distracted while passing by.

This is one of many public art instillations on the Little Sugar Creek Greenway. The statue of “Captain James Jack” incorporates an important historical event which happened in Charlotte at the start of the American Revolution.

Most notably, the Greenway resurrected the Little Sugar Creek. This act of preservation symbolizes the necessity to preserve our green space, the City of Charlotte found a viable way to reincarnate the river and make it assessable to city residents and local species to enjoy. The development of green spaces is necessary to reduce the impact of urban development in our community and city planners found a way to develop a useful space and preserve the natural space associated with the Little Sugar Creek.

Live On Air: The Television Studio

In correlation with my piece on the radio studio I felt it appropriate to discuss the space of the television studio as well.

The television studio’s specific role is to create programming for a television station. It is typically a large space with multiple areas to shoot coverage. It is a space that can be transformed fairly easy to meet the needs of multiple production needs. The space of CW46 has a set, green screen, production studio, and a props department. Besides the production studio this space is self sufficient to create programming.

The CW46 studio is self sufficient for production. green screen, HD-cameras, props department, and set. (from L-R)

If the user of this space is familiar with a television studio then it should activate creativity. The resources in this space have interdependence with one another, and they all must be used to produce on-air quality coverage. The props are needed to develop the set, the set is needed as a space for the talent to present information, the cameras are needed to document the talent and the lighting of this space is necessary to help visualize the talent.

The view from Camera 2 (Left of center)

The interdependence of these resources in the space maximize the usefulness of it. The television studio is sound proof and this is done to keep access to the product limited until it is finalized.

The television studio has a limited role outside of video production. It is an expensive, yet necessary space to run a broadcast television station. One example how the studio is used outside of video production is when our company uses this space to have employee meetings and parties as it is the largest space available to use. The transformation is quite simple we move the cameras and set props to the side (all of which are on rollers) and set up chairs and other necessary tools needed for the activity.

It is hard to apply all 9 principles  in accordance with the UXD concepts of space. Most notably transcendence and inclusiveness. Let’s elaborate further.

Transcendence – Optimally this space should be designed to facilitate interaction between the different departments associated with the television studio.

Inclusiveness – The space should be comfortable, aestheically-pleasing , and inviting.

The specific needs for this space hinder this ability. The design and temperature of this space is cold (due to the temperatures the overhead lights give out during a broadcast) a recommendation would be to create an open studio similar to that which is used on CNN, which uses the actual office as a backdrop. This converts the space into a multi-tiered work place. Costly, yes but this would allow for optimal uses of the space and allow more functions to take place in it. A simpler approach would be planning and beautification projects within the space. Similar to the CW46 conference room, the space should be scheduled out in advance for planning purposes. When the studio is not in use the temperature should be comfortable while not in use for production. Brightening the space with drywall, installing carpet, and incorporating a usable work station for other departments in here would encourage other members of the television station to use the space.

Example of the “Open Studio” used in the CNN Studios in Atlanta.

This space is a costly necessity to running any television station. In many instances it is a closed door environment by the basis of the work that is done. Members of the broadcast/production department should be hesitant to allow coexistence of all departments in this space due to the cost of equipment. However with simple modifications and education of the work force it can be done.

Birkdale Village: An example of modernizing American suburbs

Birkdale Village is a live work community north of Charlotte in the city of Huntersville. It allows residents easy access to shopping, dining, and entertainment just a short walk from their home. In correlation with Kunstler’s TED talk It aligns to his theory of less reliance on the automobile and a resurgence of the public space. Specifically it aligns suburban American sprawl more to the European city public space rather than our traditional models.

This place mark symbolized the center of Birkdale Village.

The space is set up with a village center, and a place mark is used to symbolize the focal point of the space. The buildings closest to this space are densely packed with shopping spaces on the first floor, offices on the second floor, and residential apartments on every other floor. As you move further away from the Birkdale Village center, the density of buildings opens up. Looking past the village center one can notice apartment homes become townhomes, then they transition into single family homes. The same is said for the retail sector, as a cluster of retail stores opens up to a Walgreen’s, and lastly, a mosaic movie theatre furthest away from Birkdale Village’s center.

The residential area is tucked away behind the main thoroughfare, and has limited access to the village center and retail area of Birkdale. There are other roads to access the residential areas outside of the main thoroughfare, however I think this is done to prevent people who do not live in Birkdale Village from parking or loitering in the residential area. It also helps residents avoid the distractions associated with retail shopping and allow a somewhat normal suburban feel of their home.

These townhomes are situated on one of the roads into the residential community associated with Birkdale Village.

Turn off the access street to Birkdale Village onto a side street and you enter modern American Suburbia.

There is a tree scape that is a natural canopy over the streets, while studying this space I could visualize the trees lit up for the Christmas Holiday or lush and green during the summer months, which helps beautify the public space. The roads are even designed to make you feel like you’re in a different time period. Red brick is used in many places to symbolize the brick roads of London, and the design of the buildings reminds me of a street in Pimlico a neighborhood of London.

Birkdale Village closely resembles the streets of Pimlico, UK.

A typical Pimlico street scape.

To find your way throughout the mixed use space of Birkdale Village the developer strategically placed directories throughout the dense retail space, allowing residents and visitors alike to gather their bearings and head to their destination with ease.

The Directory in Birkdale Village is easily accessible and helps guide people to their destination.

Birkdale Village is a suburban area which developed it’s space to allow residents walking access to a variety of activities. It is designed to give residents a feeling of self sufficiency that we hardly see in American suburbs. It is a model that this writer hopes will prosper in American (re)development and should be considered by developers as a model to strive for to help with dependency on cheap oil.

Space and (Lack of) Technology in the NCDMV

Today, as I sit here at the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles I can’t help but take in the scenery. Let me set it up for you. The DMV is in a dingy shopping mall in Mount Holly, NC (appox 20 miles West of Charlotte) When I enter the building I am taken aback by the nostalgic application of minimalism in everything including technology. It reminds me of my grade school lunch room. I grab a number (#122) and take a seat with my iPad and iPhone, the very first thing I do is check for Wi-Fi service, none. Then I look at my cell phone, no service either. I look up at the wall and notice a sign that informs us that cell phones are prohibited. I realize how thankful I am that I downloaded my readings to my iPad in advance.

A sign similar to this is one of the few pictures on the wall of the NCDMV.

While sitting in a uncomfortable plastic chair and reading from my iPad my number is called in a 90’s style automated voice. I also see my number pop up on the deli style counter to proceed to clerk number 1. I walk behind the waiting area to the clerk. There are 3 officers all at their individual desks. 3 computers, one each for their processing needs, 3 sets of stand-alone binoculars which are used for the eye test, and lastly I see an area to get my picture taken for my renewed driver’s license. This space leaves nothing to be desired, it is designed to make a customer anxious and ready to leave.

An example of the deli style “take a number” counter used at the Mount Holly DMV

I want to write about this because it is one of the last public spaces with a classical approach to business. They have a model which they believe is the best. There have been many public attempts to get the DMV to modernize their processes through pop culture references and common sense measures. But yet they refuse to modernize for the 21st century, the NCDMV will not even allow payment with debit cards. You know who takes debit cards? Everyone, even the lady who cuts my hair in her basement has a credit card reader on her iPhone.

In comparison, the United States Postal Service has modernized their facilities and are incorporating technology into their processes. For instance, you can now do all your shipping from a remote location. Meaning, you can pack your boxes, print your shipping labels, and schedule a pick-up right from your house. This method is marketed as the USPS’s “Pack, Print, Ship” campaign.

It comes down to the fact that there will always be a need for the Department of Motor Vehicles, and as much as we despise going there we have to. The DMV has no societal motivation or outside competition like the United States Postal Service to modernize, therefore they will continue to always be the worst place to spend your lunch break.

Note: I wanted to take pictures for this however, I was afraid if I took any I would be kicked out, and it was only a 20 minute line….can’t beat that!

NoDa: Incorporating public art in the neighborhood

The NoDa (North Davidson) neighborhood is nestled approximately three miles north of Uptown Charlotte and is widely considered the home of the local art community. This neighborhood has a historic past, being created first as a mill town to support the cotton industry in the early twentieth century. The cotton mills shut down in the 1960’s and for nearly three decades the neighborhood was left to decay into the background of Charlotte’s intermodal rail yard.

In the mid 90’s artists in Charlotte were looking for a communal neighborhood that was affordable and allowed creativity in an urban setting. Thus, NoDa was born and since then it has become a desirable neighborhood with art galleries, dining, shopping, nightlife, and music. Every first and third Friday of the month the neighborhood does a “Gallery Crawl” which brings people in from all over the city for a night of viewing and supporting local artists.

It is crucial to notice how NoDa incorporates art into it’s public spaces. As mentioned earlier there is an importance to establish creativity within this neighborhood. I believe the local artists do a great job incorporating art, history, and a general understanding of the neighborhood when creating art for this neighborhood. Based on Flemings 2007 book The Art of Placemaking there are several questions to ask when creating art for a public space including logistic, ascetic, and usability guidelines, this writing will bring understanding of why local artists decided to create art for the public space of NoDa.

The Matheson Bridge Art Project was able to beautify a bridge underpass using monies from corporate sponsors and a local nonprofit.

If you enter the NoDa neighborhood via North Davidson street from Uptown you must pass underneath Matheson avenue, this bridge was an eye sore for outsiders entering the neighborhood. Locals have been looking for a way to beautify the area, however funding was an issue. Neighborhood artist William Puckett had a vision to paint a mural on the bridge underpass but he lacked funding. At the same time the May 20th Society was looking at ways to beautify Charlotte and raise awareness of the history of our Declaration of Independence from British rule. The two organizations meet and with the resources of the May 20th Society, they were able to find funding and beautify the area under the stipulation that the mural’s theme correlate with the message of the May 20th Society.

A column on Matheson Bridge

This compromise of creativity for funding exemplifies coordinating resources for the betterment of the public space. It adheres to the creativity of the neighborhood space and allows for a beautification project to take place that under traditional circumstances would not happen.

This mural on the side of Jack Beagles is the backdrop for weekend concerts.

A mural on the side of Jack Beagles is another example of William Puckett’s work at incorporating art in NoDa’s public spaces. This mural is easily seen from the street and is the backdrop for the neighborhood’s weekend summer concert series.

The configuration and size of this mural supports the functions that are needed for this space. It adheres to the neighborhood agenda of beautification through creativity and art, and it incorporates the people who call this neighborhood home. It is worth noting that this mural was painted by local residence, and every person in this mural is in fact an actual resident of the NoDa neighborhood.

This bike rack in a NoDa park incorporates an industrial past and arts focused future of the neighborhood.

Another example of public art in the NoDa neighborhood are the 5 bike racks throughout it. The design features of them used in space include arts and crafts that are particular to the neighborhood. They are made out of steel pipe, have an industrial design, and are colorfully painted. One can assume that use of steel piping and design of the bike racks were created with the industrial past and proximity to the intermodal rail-yard in mind. The addition of color and creativity help assimilate their design to the rich artistic culture of NoDa.

The artistic vibes of the NoDa neighborhood has rubbed off on the Charlotte Fire Department.

The incorporation of public art has rubbed off on the local businesses and public works departments. Take Charlotte’s Old #7 fire station in NoDa, they have assimilated to the creative culture of space in the neighborhood and where they can they create public art. Including painting benches that are on their property. Other businesses including Solstice Tavern have also painted murals on their buildings to assimilate to the design of the neighborhood. These elements are encouraging local tourism by connecting all the parts of the neighborhood into a giant art space which allow visitors to savor NoDa as a collective one.

Solstice Tavern is one of many NoDa businesses assimilating to the artistic design of the neighborhood.

The community of artists who make NoDa home have found reasonably inexpensive ways to make the public space welcoming for businesses and people alike. In instances where beautification of the neighborhood has become hindered due to budgetary measures, NoDa has found ways to engage the business community to make all projects come to life. These measures ensure a bright future as NoDa’s art community. It will be interesting to see in the coming years how upkeep on these public art spaces is maintained, as it is important to preserve the heritage of this neighborhood.

Live On-Air: Breaking down the space of the radio studio

The radio studio is an interesting space where interpersonal and mass communication takes place. The theory behind a good talk show is to have natural engaging conversation between the personalities that is relevant to the demographics they are targeting.

I recently went to an old employer, CBS Radio Charlotte to review the space of the radio studio. I visited the WPEG Power 98 studios to observe and document the engagement of this space.

The WPEG-FM studio, control tower to the middle (w/talent) and a “C” shaped desk around the talent to optimize interaction.

The studio is roughly 300 square feet, there is a control tower where the personality sits and reviews playlists, promos, live reads, phones, and most importantly social media. Around him is a “C” shaped desk with 4 microphone stations (used for other personalities and guests) The walls are covered in soft sound proofing material, and there are television monitors and speakers hanging throughout the studio. When you are inside the studio you do not hear anything outside of it (and visa versa). The inclusiveness of the studio design invites all parties to participate within the system because of the intimacy of the set design and lack of outside distractions.

View from the control tower, the windows in the back show the pre-screening room.

From the outside you can see into the studio from three large windows, the way the studio is set up inhibits people from entering at leisure. This is made possible by a large door with an internal lock system and very noticeable red “On-Air”sign that will be flashing when the jock is on air.

There is another room isolated from the main studio this is the pre-screen room where a call in interview or listener get prepped to be on-air. This room typically has an intern or less experienced employee working in it, as it is considered a “get your feet wet” job. The room has a microphone to the studio but the engineer traditionally doesn’t use it, instead they communicate with the talent via instant messenger or simply writing out a message and pressing it against a window. This room is also sound proof and inhibits people from entering at their leisure in the same way that the studio does.

While observing the talent work in this space it’s interesting to see how he engages with his listeners through facebook, twitter, and on the phone. The system is set up to allow the personality to be creative during their on-air shift while still following a mandated script of songs and sponsorship live reads. The talent follows what he sees on twitter, and reports on important information he sees, in this instance it was a tweet from Rihanna about Chris Brown. This suggests that the technology and design of the system fulfills the purpose for what is intended to be.

The radio studio redefines the way communication is presented in space. During a talk show for instance, communication is traditionally manufactured rather than organically spoken. It is the responsibility of the talent to manufacture conversation that is engaging to the audience but also sounds organic. The traditionally small space of the studio helps the talent present intimate conversation. This helps challenge it’s users to move beyond the boundaries of manufacturing conversation and encourages intimate communication during the show. This transcendence helps put on a good show for the audience.

The radio studio is a unique blend of micro and macro space. meaning, the production of the broadcast is done on a micro level in a small nestled setting to promote engagement. Yet the communication between parties in the radio studio are being broadcasted to millions of people in the Charlotte area. This rare combination of “private” communication for a public space blurs the perception or communication reality for the talent and can create a stunning program for it’s listener.

The CW46 Conference Room

The conference room at CW46 in Charlotte, NC is an ideal multipurpose room used for a range of activities from staff luncheons to CW Upfront presentations (Prime programming premiers). The room is large enough to sit 20 comfortably and has standing room around the conference table in the middle of the room. There is also a kitchenette which proves beneficial for long meetings with a lunch break.

A panoramic view of the CW46 conference room, notice the screen to view client material, large conference table, and space to put 20+ people in this room.

Outside of our production studios and master control room (where we monitor and feed our broadcast) the conference room is the most up-to-date regarding technology in the building. The major technological amenities of the conference room include full surround sound, 3D projector screen, computer, access to four cable service providers (TWC, DirecTV, Dish, AT&T U-Verse), and a direct satellite feed from CW corporate.

The technology closet of the conference room holds all the tools needed to easily access all of our resources.

These spacial and technological amenities make this room a desirable place to conduct work especially if a third party is involved. We tend to direct third parties to this area because it allows privacy from the daily activities associates with running a television station. There tends to be a larger than normal amount of sensitive information that floats around the office of a television station due to the nature of our business, and in many cases if our guests were to see this information they would have an advantage over the competition.

We enjoy taking guests here who are on (or trying to get on) our air because it gives them the chance to view their own program or commercial on “the big screen”. This room presents a sense of legitimacy to our clients as it offers them a large professional room to conduct business and incorporates the technological resources a television station should have at their disposal.

The conference room portrays a sense of legitimacy to our guests.

This space is welcoming, so much so that co-workers will stay after hours and have a movie night from time to time. The reclining chairs and large conference table make the furniture optimal for relaxing and bringing snacks into the space. Our 120 inch screen and surround sound speakers allows the space to have transcendence and engaging activities that are outside of the traditional norms of a corporate conference room. This delivers a perception of ownership of the space because of the design and upkeep of the system.

This sense of malleability allows the CW46 conference room to be used quite frequently, so much so that the room must be reserved in advance (with business related activities given a priority over personal).

In an ordinary circumstance the amount of technology in this room might intimidate some to use the resources. Our staff’s technological knowledge ranges from limited at best to expert.  Our IT department recognizes this and conveniently labeled every switch in the room to make using the technology easy. This helps with the panoramic fit into the community of systems, as it allows everyone an equal opportunity to access these valuable resources.

The CW46 conference room is always advancing, to stay relevant to client expectations it is necessary that we continue innovation. Budgetary limitations hinder the ability to incorporate this technology in the entire office. It is worth noting that much of this technology is not necessarily needed to be a productive broadcast television station.

My deck: the balance of distraction and learning

The deck off the back of my house is an ideal place for me to focus and take in a good book. It allows me to dive into something and easily break away when I need it. Let’s look deeper into why…

A panoramic view of my deck

I live in a quaint yet still “transitioning” neighborhood just 3 miles north of Uptown Charlotte called Plaza Midwood. It is one of the original ‘street car suburbs’ of Charlotte, with mature trees, quiet streets, and and mix of old and new bungalow style homes.

My home sits on a hill at the intersection of two streets and it allows for a ‘bird’s nest’ view of the neighborhood traffic. There is a natural canopy of trees over our deck that allows for pockets of blue sky to shine through, yet makes the space feel intimate and private to the rest of the neighborhood. It is relatively quiet, and the deck gives me views of both streets and at least a dozen homes, which is perfect for casual people watching. I have simple patio furniture with comfortable yet stiff chairs that make napping impossible but do not inhibit sitting.

The chairs are comfy yet rigid, which allows for concentration on school work but no opportunity to fall asleep.

So why exactly is this space a nice balance of distraction and learning. For me it inherits many of the traits closely associated with Dr. McArthur’s UXD concept of instructional space through and information design perspective. Although this space is not directly associated with learning spaces on a campus. It is translatable in the common goal to gain knowledge in non-traditional work spaces.

Dr. McArthur points to nine specific UXD concepts for envisioning instructional space through an informational design perspective which are…

1. -Transcendence
2. -Engagement
3. -Malleability
4. -Purpose
5. -Ownership
6. -Panoramic
7. -Responsiveness
8. -Inclusiveness
9. -Coherence

While reading Dr. McArthur’s journal on this subject matter (notable from my deck) I assessed my personal learning space to his theory to conclude that my deck provides me with at a minimum of seven of his concepts in my learning space.

Firstly would be engagement, with the help of a laptop or my iPad I have an assessable area for individual work and access to all of my materials needed for this class.

Malleability, this space allows me to move my patio furniture in a way that I can focus on the task at hand and give me opportunities to break when necessary. My home is also accessible to wireless access to the internet.

The purpose and ownership of my deck go hand in hand. On the side of purpose the layout of this space is dedicated to learning when applicable. Yet, ownership allows for me to use this space for other needs for my family.

Panoramic, my deck (and home) fit into the overall architecture of my neighborhood. The mature trees allow me a sense of privacy and my level of sight allow for me to break from my studies when necessary.

The responsiveness of my space is directly tied to the access to technology in the home. Wi-Fi access, two laptop computers and an iPad ensure access to many of the resources needed to use my deck as an appropriate learning space.

Lastly, my deck is comfortable, aesthetically-pleasing, and an inviting learning environment  for me to focus on my studies. This is a clear defined example of inclusiveness as defined by Dr. McArthur in his journal (McArthur p. 68-69).

It’s worth noting that I have interpreted and adapted Dr. McArthur’s definitions of UXD concepts in learning spaces for my own space on a case by case basis.

Most importantly this space works for me. Admittedly I have a limited attention span and I tend to lose focus of what I am doing. Learning on my back deck is quiet enough to focus for long periods of time with short intermittent breaks. The views from my deck allow me time to break as I watch a plane fly overhead, or my neighbor walk their dog past my house. This gives me enough time to step away from the mental fatigue often associated with reading scholarly journals, but not enough time to find an excuse to do something else.

A glimpse of a plane flying overhead…view from my deck.

In closing, I hope all my classmates have found similar spaces in their own environment to motivate learning at the tenuous level we are familiar with.

Engagement: Ikea vs. Wal-Mart

On Monday, September 17th, 2012 our COMM668 class took a field trip to IKEA and Wal-Mart to study the space and UXD concepts of the two box warehouse stores. We were each assigned one of nine UXD theories and were told to asses each space and review them for our blog, I was given the role of analyzing the engagement of both spaces, this is that post.

IKEA

This Swedish furniture superstore is designed to maximize foot traffic throughout the entire store. It has similarities to the design of a museum, where spaces are created inside the store to display the relativity of the products in a natural environment. Unlike a museum you are encouraged to interact in these spaces, this creates a unique perspective for the consumer whereas you can envision these spaces as your own.

This is the entrance to IKEA. Follow the suggested walking path, you won’t get out of the store without touching 100 different things

The individual engagement in this store varies per department but there is a clear underlying method in use. The IKEA idea is to embrace the design of the store and the furniture inside it. Touch the furniture, sit in it, envision the furniture in your personal space. Once you have done that, the IKEA design makes it simple to act upon those feelings, based on size and location of the product there are three ways to do this.

This is a map of an IKEA home space, it shows the consumer how to vision the space when entering.

1. Small products – Take the furniture or home good with you directly from the showroom floor.

2. Medium products / furniture – For bigger items IKEA directs you to kiosks with golf pencils, measuring tape, and a map of the store with a place to write the product number on it. These tools allow you to write down your purchase, then pick it up in their warehouse at the end of your experience. This allows the consumer to stay focused on the showroom and not the bulky products they are going to buy at the end of the experience. It allows the consumer to stay engaged throughout the entire IKEA experience.

3. Home Design products – The kitchen and flooring sections of IKEA are set up to allow you to touch and look at hundreds of different designs. After looking at the products, you have the option to visit another kiosk. This time however they are computer stations with simple design programs which allow the consumer to recreate their space and add IKEA products. This is the ultimate form of on the spot engagement based on UXD concepts as it allows the consumer to visually imagine the products in their own space with the help of a computer.

In contrast, the space of Wal-Mart ensues a different type of engagement which I define simply as intense price consciousness.

This is a view when you enter Wal-Mart, unlike IKEA you have a view of the entire store and are encouraged to go directly to the department you need to go.

Wal-Mart is set up on a grid pattern of major intersections to smaller departments. The entrance and exit pathways are the longest in the store and they direct traffic to walk their length to get your bearings in the store. These pathways allow the consumer to visually see as many departments as possible and show you how to get to them quickly. This pattern allows for the store to embrace many patrons at one time, limiting heavy foot traffic to the major walk-ways.

Wal-Mart is unique, in that it allows you to embrace a product while being directly solicited from another. I saw an example of this in the laundry detergent isle where Fabuloso (a Colgate company) was on display, directly in front of the product was a digital advertisement billboard promoting a laundry detergent from Procter and Gamble. Informing consumers where to find the product and coupons which would make their product competitive in price to the Fabuloso brand.

A digital board is used to advertise a competing laundry detergent. This engagement is used to persuade the consumer to try a different brand.

This is where the theory of intense price consciousness comes into play with Wal-Mart. This store is known for “always low prices”  and marketing is geared towards this strategy. Unlike IKEA, which encourages the consumer to interact with the entire showroom floor. Wal-Mart brings customers in for the prices and this type of engagement is evident everywhere.

This display show’s Wal-Mart’s engagement focus of Intense Price Consciousness. Health and Beauty items all for .88 cents.

IKEA brings consumers to their store with an interactive museum approach, it welcomes their customer to touch and embrace every product. This method might allow the consumer to make more big ticket purchases. In comparison, Wal-Mart is focused less on the interactive approach of engagement and more so on allowing the consumer to embrace the cost effectiveness of all products. This engagement method might result in a consumer buying many smaller items. The intense price consciousness perception that saving on everything allows the consumer to buy more that they anticipated in spending.

South Park on Wal-Mart