Empathetic Design
The role of observation-based research in a closed-loop system
Objective: Using rigorous site and body research as the basis for the building concept, develop a program to intervene into an existing furniture manufacturing workshop (Ohio Design) to explore the (in)compatibility of spaces made suitable for work. Specifically, I was interested in the role of observation, data and surveillance in creating furniture, products and services through the empathy building process in design.
Ohio Design is a specialty furniture workshop in San Francisco’s Mission District - located between a bustling brewery, a High School and with a variety of residential and production spaces in close proximity. In my exploration of the site, I looked at the surrounding area at eye-level as opposed to a bird’s eye view. My interest in the processes by which humans interact with, and personalize, space (RIGHT) also informed my study of the human body in relationship to another (BELOW), specifically in working together to move a large object. The clear throughline between these studies is the importance of observation and the collection of specific data points - which became a driving factor in my building concept.
Currently, at Ohio Design, their iterations end once the furniture is shipped out of the workshop because they do not have the ability to observe the usage of their products, collect valuable information and opinions and then adjust accordingly. Since the firm primarily manufactures office furniture, I built in a Coworking space that utilizes Ohio products - giving their team a chance to observe and assemble data points. Examples of such data are the UTILIZATION of adjustable desks in sit or stand mode, the wear and tear of materials or the alternate uses for side tables or chairs. Through site surveillance, I created a more efficient design for Ohio’s workflow - one that better suites their method of material batching their work.
In order to create a feedback loop between the companies in the coworking space and the people they will be creating for, this building includes another layer: a public space - filled with a constant flow of community members who will have access to the open ground floor, but may be asked for their opinions, participate in user-testing and brainstorming groups or be observed as part of the data collection process. The public space must be flexible and temporary in nature - following a model for Flexible Urbanism similar to Envelope A+D’s Proxy and Sidewalk Lab’s Quayside. The transient nature of pop-up spaces such as food trucks, farmer’s markets installations and other activations allow for constant community input as the public “votes with their feet.”
The new building now merges Ohio’s Design Process with the individual work of companies and organizations in the coworking space who are interested in better utilizing data collection and curated observation to inform and shape their final ideas and products. The idea of cross-pollination, between different companies and fields, is what the Coworking model was built on and my proposal takes it one step further:
A feedback loop between creators and the community is at the core of Empathetic Design.
to maintain its historic designation, the new building uses the exterior cladding of the Ohio warehouse, but a new structure of steel flanges extends two stories above the previous roofline. The structure is not covered, creating an open building, but the suspension of ten enclosed cubes among the steel columns and beams creates moments of exposure and protection. In order to curate the viewership between the Ohio employees, the coworking members and the general public, the boxes all sit at different levels to create selective visual, auditory and physical access between the different programs. Using an advanced structural system, the boxes are supported by the exterior columns and internal beams only, allowing the ground floor to be entirely open with no columns to restrict movement or activation possibilities. Stairs and corridors connect the levels and different cubes.
“Data is a proxy for what we care about. Data is a proxy for public life...It’s a larger culture change towards a human centered city”
- Neil Hrushowy on the use of Urban Data, Gehl Institute Public Life Data Protocol
