Design 21: Social Design Network

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a Drummers story:

Lets get some points on paper.

Age 14 owned a drum set, had the drums, had the hardware, no cymbals.

without cymbals, finally owning a drum set, I wanted to play, the experience was incomplete.

In my basement and desperate, I found some aluminum sheet metal...

I drilled holes...

I made cymbals.

ok , they sounded like shit, but I had a hi-hat to hit, and a ride cymbal to drive with...

Here is that muscle scenario. No pleasant sound, but the opportunity to hit something, in a designated place.

Becoming a drummer I learned about ergonomics. Positioning drums and cymbals in ideal locales to play without overstraining the body.

Developing a thought

continue...

Since a child.

I remember acutely wanting to be a drummer since 5th grade.

I played piano, My mom taught me.

I was very rhythmic. I would speed up songs for fun, I was impatient I hated reading music. I wanted to improvise without actual knowledge of theory.

I got yelled at while practicing at home if I veered off practice course.

That mad me mad. I realized playing notes could express emotions.

I explored that notion.

In school we were prompted to choose a musical instrument to study at school.... I wanted to play drums, but that required private lessons, which I knew my parents wouldn't go for, my mom suggested Cello, because I could accompany her piano playing.

I was convinced. I found it easy to learn, it requires you know the bass clef. I was at ease not having to read treble cleff and bass cleff at once...sight reading for piano was NEVER a strength for me.

The way I learned was by ear, by arduous practice, and then by muscle memory.

Once owning Muscle memory I would fly...I would fly through a piece speeding it up to a ridiculous pace, because I understood, what my muscle understood...it was a phenomenon....I could play a song through my muscles.

It was mind first, then muscle....then Muscle became Mind.

So I played Cello in the school orchestra.

I improvised constantly. I turned my cello into a percussive instrument, I spun it on its extending peg. I made ethereal sounds by dragging the bow across muted strings...

All this to say...

I want...

Form: I consider form as the creator of myth, the promise of intention. What I design must be formally unique; it should be visually fast, and conceptually digestible.

Function: What I design will function easily. It will explain itself, and consider alternative situations. It will be durable for the toughest user, travel light, and work hard.

Ethics: What I design will not change social order. It will not offend the non-user, it will respect limitations in public and private space.

Ergonomics: It will feel good to touch, to interact with. It will relate to body size, to purpose and scenario.

Color & Material: Material will be an integral design criterion. What the product is made of will determine its sensuality, manufacturability, cost, and desirability.

Size & Portability: What I design will assume a space saving mentality it will be purposeful in use and out of use. It won’t require a carrying case, or have a mess of wires, it will be self contained, sculptural, purposeful.

My personal goal: my passion

Issue 1: Music education/ practice space: accessibility (public & private space)

Issue 2: Sedentary life & Aging

Final Project: Music Education, Health and Well Being, Physical Therapy.

What is your Thesis issue?

1 : Music Education/ Practice space

Inner city musicians alike have limited options for play space.

2: Sedentary Life & Aging:

• What do we really know about our health?
• Do we only go to the doctor when we are sick?
• Who is taking care of you?

Final Project: Is there a way to make public play spaces viable in the city?

Music Therapy, Aging and Physical Therapy.

What aspect of the issue will your project address?

1 Music Education/Practice space:

Does practice space necessitate real-estate?

The effects of sound/music on the body.

2 Sedentary Life & Aging:

Do we know how healthy we are? Can physical therapy inform our decisions?

-Alexander Technique Can you teach a person how to use their body?

Final Project: Can public play spaces encourage physical activity? Can music be universally learned and promoted by an infrastructure?

What is your project?

1 Music Education/ Practice space:

My project is to design a solution for inner city youth to practice in public space. I will explore the effects of music on the mind, as well as brainstorm portable isolation concepts.

2 Sedentary Life & Aging:

My project is to design public space objects/infrastructure to promote spontaneous physical interact...

Physical space:

I saw two construction workers eating lunch perched up against the building.

Social space:

4 construction workers, perched low on a curb of the building, they lit cigarettes in sync, and proceeded to people watch.

The construction workers saw a group of parsons students using cameras, carrying notebooks.

The construction workers watched us watch people trafficking on the sidewalk.

Physical space:

I saw a man with one foot on a fire hydrant, he was smoking a cigarette

Problems in the social space?

I didn't notice any problems,; if there were needs unfulfilled, I was not aware. I did however feel that the architecture of Parsons' window sill- gallery windows, are solving a public space issue. The window sill invites people to engage with the building. We found smokers there and people eating at lunch time.

My observations led to questions:

Why is so much public space not publicly accessible. For instance, the man with his foot on the fire hydrant smoking a cigarette.

I question the reasoning for his position on the street. Was he smoking away from the people on the window sill, or was he in a standing mood but wanted to interact with something static, as if to affirm his position on the street.

Could he have smoked his cigarette wandering around a section of the sidewalk or would this prove dizzying from traffic, and over concentration of people in the flow of bodies.

Did he want to be alone? Was he just smoking, or was he people ...