I am currently taking a class in the Design school called “creating infectious action.” When I first walked into the classroom, which is a large trailer on the edge of campus, I was struck by how different the space was. It is a large open room with a number of high tables and chairs on the north end of the classroom. On the south end there are a number of orange and white couches, and a projector screen that can be pulled down for power point presentations. This is where the lectures take place. Everything is the room is movable, even the walls to a certain extent (the room was remodeled right before the beginning of our class, and probably will be again). Around the outside of the space are a number of workstations where students leave their in-process design projects. This gives other students the chance to see what their classmates and other classes are working on, and how they are approaching the design process. When I first started the class I was struck by how different the space was. It was only over time however, that I realized how much this difference in space impacted my learning.
The design of the room embodies the design process. Nothing is set in stone and the design itself is continually being prototyped. Every week when I walk into the classroom something is different. Whether it be new dividers added for presentations, or examples of prototypes of past projects posted on the wall. It is a space for design that is continually being designed itself.
For the first couple of weeks of class I didn’t realize just how much this design impacted our learning. However, around mid-terms we had conference where a number of speakers came an talked to us about creating infectious action. This class took place in a large lecture hall with fixed seats and a clearly static design. The learning experience was completely different. Many of the design principles seemed much more theoretical, and it was easier to be a skeptic about whether or not they would work in the real world.
When I first entered the design school I was struck by the difference in the space. However, it wasn’t until we took the class to a different space that I realized how much the class embodied the principles of design and creating infectious action that we were being taught in class. The design of this classroom plays a huge role in the learning that takes place there.