Overview of Proposed Concepts

Adding terraces to the landscape would enable the users to interact on various levels and possibly carry out imaginative play activities. These tiers, while a basic addition, have very few constraints associated with them; therefore making play activities open-ended and multi-dimensional.



In order to improve the flow in play, a path that ramps up to the highest terrace would surround the development area. The tree will be removed in favor of creating the play terraces. The lowest terrace functions as a sandbox--to support constructive play--and the middle terrace provides an artificial turf surface for general purposes.



The path will feature two ramps. The lower ramp in the figure above provides ADA-compliant accessibility to the uppermost terrace. The upper ramp provides a more challenging slope for wheelchair users and tricycle riders.



The structure alongside the rear fence is the second proposed development feature. This interactive Pixel Wall can be used to support a variety of activities. Basically, it is a grid of blocks that can each be rotated about its central axis. Users would rotate the blocks to reveal a different colored faces on the front of the wall.



The Pixel Wall can be used for the following:

• artistic expression
• communicating messages
• keeping score
• playing games
• creating patterns

The columns would be spaced wide enough apart so that limbs would not be entrapped by the rotation. Each cube is roughly 5" wide.



While the standard blocks feature three bright colors + black, the faces can ultimately be customized to offer a wide variety of games. The figure above shows illustrated cards being inserted into a block in order to facilitate playing a Concentration-style game.

Hypothesis/Design Solution

The proposed design solution consists of two parts:

• A terraced playscape
• Interactive elements incorporated into the playscape

Adding terraces to the landscape would enable the users to interact on various levels and possibly carry out imaginative play activities. These tiers, while a basic addition, have very few constraints associated with them; therefore making play activities open-ended and multi-dimensional.

Incorporating interactive elements into the playscape may either facilitate constructive play or be used to initialize sociodramatic play activities. Constructive play may involve sand play and/or other artistic media. Sociodramatic play may involve direct physical interaction with a landscaped feature (e.g. boulder or a nook).

Problem Identification

Activity: A Day in the Life

Group #4:
Eugene Wong
Allison Filice
Jonathan Rillera
Michelle Ramos

Family Name: Palin
A trip to the Museum

Family Personas:

Student: Eugene Wong
Name: Morris
Age: 15
Description: Morris just started high school, and is an average student who has a borderline attention span.. He's had a cochlear implant since age 2 which doesn't impact his learning, but does affect his speech a little bit. Socially, Morris is close with a small group of friends who all play basketball together nearly everyday. He likes sports, but isn't tall or skilled enough to play on the school team.
Vision: 0
Hearing: 3
Mobility: 0
Grasp: 0
Balance: 1
Strength: 2
Memory: 1
Attention: 2

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Student: Jonathan Rillera
Name: Tyler
Age: 26
Description: Tyler is divorced and is the aunt of Morris. Tyler works as a pharmaceutical sales rep and balances her free time with Bernard, Morris, Carli and doing a lot of outdoor activities.
vision: 2
hearing: 1
grasp: 2
balance: 1
strength: 1
memory: 3
attention: 3

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Student: Michelle Ramos
Name: Carlisle (Carli)
Age: 2
Description: Carli is in her terrible 2’s and reeks havoc. She loves to eat and play with everything around her, yet she is extremely afraid of things being "dirty." Carli’s fear of "dirtiness" causes her to smell everything from her eating utensils to her toys, which causes her to scream for her mommy to clean things up. For her age she’s very inquisitive; she loves to ask questions and often reply’s to things she likes with, "ollyweeeeee." Since Carli is the baby, she loves to be the center of attention and will do anything to get it. You can often find her singing the theme song to Spongebob Squarepants. Although she a very jolly baby, she often has very runny poos.
Vision: 1
Hearing: 1
Mobility: 3
Grasp: 4
Balance: 3
Strength: 4
Memory: 3
Attention: 5

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Student: Allison Filice
Name: Bernard
Age: 68
Description: Bernard is a widowed grandfather. His wife died of breast cancer 7 years ago and he has been single and living with Morris and his family ever since. He feels it's important to be close to family and does handyman jobs around the house while the others are at school and working. Bernard has a group of old school friends he meets for coffee twice a week in the mornings.
vision: 1
hearing: 1
grasp: 1
balance: 1
strength: 0
memory: 1
attention: 0

New Problem Statement Draft

My meeting with the Director of Recreation Services at the Janet Pomeroy Center on Friday was outstanding. She provided me with a tour of the facilities as well as sharing her insights about some problem areas that eventually need to be addressed. Case in point:

Problem Statement: The children's playground at the Janet Pomeroy Center contains equipment that is not universally accessible and may be unsafe for prolonged usage. They are also unsure of the entrance ramp's compliance to ADA design standards.

Purpose Statement: The purpose of this study is to develop a proposal for a playscape that is in accordance with ADA design standards, inclusive of all users, and promotes a safe and active play environment.

Draft of 3 Problem and Purpose Statements

I consider these to be my top three choices for now, but I do have a couple others that require further investigation. Approaching people to ask them what their problems are isn't exactly a comfortable scenario, which is why I contacted some leads via email in hopes of speaking with them formally to get their input on more ideas I have.

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Problem Statement: Privacy windows in retail pharmacy stores provide a marginal amount of additional privacy for patient/pharmacist consults. This may actually facilitate customer embarrassment rather than preventing it.

Purpose Statement: The purpose of this study is to develop an alternate means of facilitating private discussions with patients within the spatial constraints designated by the pharmacy.

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Problem Statement: When exiting from underground railway stations, it is difficult to distinguish which stairway/escalator is ideal for traveling towards the direction of a passenger’s desired destination.

Purpose Statement: The purpose of this study is to develop an improved wayfinding system for navigating and surfacing from underground railway stations in urban environments.

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Problem Statement: When the American Heart Association visits health fairs and community based organizations to promote heart-health advocacy, they encounter difficulty stimulating their audience with displays that are engaging and informative.

Purpose Statement: The purpose of this study is to develop a means of appealing to various groups in public settings in order to deliver advocacy messages that promote healthy living.

Synposis of Three Existing 505 Research Reports

Part of this week's assignment included critiquing three archived reports from past DAI 505 sections. Below, I've included just the final remarks I've commented on each of them. Note that the author's names have been omitted in an effort to protect their identity.

This task was helpful in that it made me familiar with the format, content, and length of what must be delivered upon completing this course. Otherwise, it was interesting to learn of others’ experiences with this course; whether their projects were ultimately successful or not.

Report #21R:
PowerBox: Portable Cordless Tool Battery Charging System
Fall 2007

Remarks: This report relies heavily on the strength of the writer’s literature review performed in the research stage of the project. Outside of this, it seemed lacking in mostly every other area. While some thumbnail-sized photos were provided, additional imagery would have been greatly appreciated: sketches, schematics, etc. Overall, I do not recommend this report for review since it lacks comprehensiveness, organization, and visual aids.

Report #33B:
Seniors and the Internet
Fall 2008

Remarks: This report contained a good amount of content that supported her study; however I encountered difficulty reading it due to frequent grammatical errors and strained style of writing. The report also had an inconsistent structure, and seemed to rely heavily on quotes and line spacing bump up the page count. The author also did not include any thumbnail sketches or process illustrations to support her development. Overall, I do not recommend this report because it is dense in content that seems secondary to the project itself.

Report #34J:
Archive Your Life
Spring 2008

Remarks: The author put forth tremendous efforts into compiling a report that is readable, concise, and well-organized. However, I fear that his research section might have been slightly too concise, as he does not cite much from the sources in his bibliography. Regardless, all of his visuals were appreciated, his appendix was actually helpful, and his methods were very systematic. I recommend this report as a fine example to refer to because it contains a variety of approaches that are highly effective and comprehensible.