PUBLIC SPACES INTERVENTION

AMEESHI GOENKAPDP301

CHARRETTE ABSTRACT

The objective of the course was to understand the design process behind intervening in a public space and making it more user friendly. We were supposed to look into the space in a public domain, it’s users and it’s day to day function. Keeping the users in mind we were meant to go through the entire design process of research, case study, conceptualization, modeling and finally making a functional prototype to be able to apply it in our daily projects..

Twelve working days were allotted carefully for every step of the process so that we could put in our 100% and get the best out of it.

SITE ANALYSIS

ANALYSIS• Nandini outlet to its right and a cobbler to its left.• There’s 10m x 3.3m space available behind the bus stop.• At least five buses halt at the bus stop every three minutes.• Closest eatery is opposite the road.• Not a very crowded bus stop.• The bus stop was on a raised platform.

OBSERVATIONS• People waiting for over thirty minutes for a particular bus

because of low frequency.• People yawning and just looking into space while waiting

for the buses.• A part of the bench was broken at one corner.• There was an over flowing dust bin close to the bus stand

and garbage scattered around.• Too many advertisements in kannada.• No bus routes board or information present.

DETAILED PLAN

USER RESEARCH

INTERVIEW RESPONSE• Safety issues.• Women feel uncomfortable.• Low lighting at night.• Shelter isn’t large enough to cover the entire bus stop when its raining.• Very unhygienic surroundings.• Railings are a hindrance when people rush to catch the bus.• Bus route information is required.

CASE STUDY

Yelahanka NES bus stopAnalysis-• Five bus stops parallel to each other• Seating was made of granite stone and a stainless iron railing.• Railings present• 18ft approximate seating arrangement accommodating a minimum of

12 persons at once.• Men:Women = 5:1• Girls occupy the corner seat and sit in groups for safety reasons• No bus route information

Mekhri Circle bus stopAnalysis-• There is a ditch right behind the bus stop• Bus stop had a railing• Metal seating • Mostly women occupied the seating area• No bus route information• People mainly stood near the bus stop and till 80m away from the

designated stop.

INFERENCES• More seating required• Gender bias• Due to no railings at the mekhri bus stop (1) people would trip and fall when they rush to catch the

bus• Rain water does not come inside the bus stop as there is a wall behind the mekhri bus stops but quite

the opposite for NES bus stops• Bus information required at every bus stop as the cops or the conductors are not present every

moment

INSPIRATIONS

Parks in Purvankara• Comfortable benches made of iron painted white having

back rests• Amphitheatre style stone seating without the back rest

facing a manicured gardens• They host festive shows and DJ nights that can

accommodate the entire crowd of Purvankara apartments

Parking Space of M.S.Ramiah Medical College• Very crowded with students and faculty members• People openly eating, smoking and chatting there• Cars parked on the sides and two wheelers in the centre• Students sat on the small stone benches near the tea

stall at one corner of the parking or on the leaned against the railings

• Cycles were parked in the corner near the railing

SCEONDARY RESEARCH

This step of the process had us involved in looking up some books and Google to give us an idea of what is already existing in the world, what can be improved upon and how we will execute our design ideas. We looked up some pictures to get some more inspiration. During this time I was strongly trying to figure out if there was any simple was making the bus route map interactive by making the people fiddle around with beads or blocks. So the small interaction would also be useful to convey some information.The bum rest concept was something close to what I saw when I was in London. The bus stops there have a small inclined plank, cushioned and non cushioned, as butt rest leaning planks. If that were to be executed in India it would be 800mm high and not cushioned so as to prevent vandalism and more long lasting.

BRAIN STORMING

During the brain storming many words relating to our research, observations, analysis and case studies were thrown on the table. After shortlisting about twenty words from 150 words and phrases, we started discussing on our common ideas. The group of five members (Prarthana, Shubhika, Khyati, Upendra and myself) was then divided into two groups of two (Upendra and Shubhika) and (Khyati, Prathana and myself).Khyati, Prarthana and I came up with a few ideas but were not satisfied with them so we brain stormed once again. After that session we were a little more happy with our ideas and decided to work on safety for women, routes information and interaction.Our ideas included a non linear seating arrangement, using the behind advertisement board for small illustrations and activities or making a bus route information.

DESIGN BRIEF

User friendly seating and the safety of women at bus stops in Bangalore is of grave concern. Women are very conscious of their surroundings and, the people nearby while waiting for a bus which may take over thirty minutes. Also, people tend to get bored during the long waits for buses to arrive.Our team would like to address the problems of user friendly seating, safety of women, boredom and hygiene at the Yelahanka Dairy Cross bus stop. We will be working on a seating arrangement that provides safety to women through an interactive element and will attempt to spread the awareness of hygiene in a subtle manner.

CONCEPTUALISATION

• Non Linear seating in order to provide people their privacy and their own space to sit and listen to music or make conversations.

• Providing the bus route information so that women don’t have to ask men or the passing by buses (which would increase traffic) for the routes and for the new bus users and for the general convenience of the people.

• Making it interactive by having illustrations and small games out up on the board behind the bus stop or use the entire board to show the bus routes.

DESIGN BRIEF ITERATED

The principal issues regarding the Yelahanka Dairy Cross bus stand are :A lack of safety, caused by pedestrians leaving the bus stand, and standing on the road, potentially in the way of oncoming traffic. The absence of information about bus routes, and timings, causing the aforementioned problem. We will address these issues by engaging the commuters with an activity, which will inform them of the routes passing through the bus stand, as well as keeping them within the confines of the bus stand. In addition, we will create platforms for the commuters to rest on as they wait for their bus.

MODELING AND ITERATIONS

The first model was to show a slanted roof so that the rainwater would fall back and the railing with the butt rest on one side and a hand and foot rest on the other side.

In the second model I have tried to show the butt rest on one side (towards the road) and a map route information on the other side, leg rest on both side, two extended arm rests and the structure would have five supporting columns.

In the fourth model there is a gap in between the butt rest and the route map interaction so that the people playing won’t touch the other person’s butt even by mistake and the structure would be made of three supporting columns.

Finally, we made a 1:10 scale down model of the railing to its exact measurements to understand how would the model really stand and to understand its proportions.There was one final iteration to the railing model wherein the bus route map information is placed at 1000mm from the ground, the arm rests are not required and the leg rest under the bus route interaction is not necessary.After this we started working on the final prototype.

The models were made to understand the mechanism behind the interaction. Several technical drawings were made to do the dimensioning and finally a 1:1 scale drawing was made to start the execution of the prototype.We also made the map digitally with the information of the order of the stops and the bus corresponding to it on InDesign to print it and paste it on the mount board.

THE FINAL PROTOTYPE

The railing with the bum rest on side closer to the road and a route map interaction on the side towards the seats at the bus stop. The material to be used while executing this concept should be stainless steel which is strong enough to hold the weight of at least five people on just three supports and because it’s a durable material.This model is made to the scale 1:10

THE FINAL PROTOTYPE

This is the route map interaction that can be provided on the railing as an activity to keep people engaged while they are waiting for the bus or just to know the routes of the different buses.If this concept has to be executed at a bus stop, stainless steel should be used as it’s a solutions against vandalism and long durability.

REFLECTION

Doing this particular design charrette was a lot of fun and extremely exhausting. I realised the limit of burden I can carry before getting totally anxious.Initially, when we were a group of five, while doing the site analysis and case study, it all went smoothly and we gained a lot of our primary research material from it. Later, when the group was divided, we had to conceptualize and make models to convey our ideas. After the concepts were finalized, we started making models. Since, I was paired with a second year direct entry student, was doing most of the work which was quite stressful. All the designing techniques were to be figured out and easy to be executed and made user friendly.While Khyati and I started making the final prototype she understood all the models and concepts and got to work. Both of us worked for long hours together with equal distribution of work and completed the prototype on time to be displayed.Going through the entire design charrette was a glimpse into how the real world functions outside of Srishti and was quite an eye opener.

THANK YOU