phase 1: August-September
Personal Desing Philosophy
Who am I?
We began the semester by reflecting on who we were when beginning this design process, what we care about, what concerns us, and our hopes for the upcoming months. as a lover of nature, I care about sustainability and natural resources. I also concern myself with the never-ending social inequalities that are present in society, and how design can make a small positive impact on people's quality of life.
Capstone inspiration
With my own hopes of exploring the country on four wheels, and since the emergence of COVID-19 allowing a more remote and mobile lifestyle, I have discovered a strong passion for van life and tiny homes. I wanted to bring this passion into my capstone project since i think it has the potential to be very impactful in communities of the future.
PROBLEM
Research and Franklinton History
When beginning my preliminary research on Franklinton the biggest factor that stood out to me was the unemployment in the area. only 171 of those who live in Franklinton also work in Franklinton, everyone else has to go outside of the city to get a job. Not only this, but a large majority of the residents of Franklinton have received less than a high school diploma which makes the hunt for employment even more challenging.
With the city pushing to improve income and bringing in new life to their city, it doesn't make sense to gentrify the area further with large corporations but to keep the identity of Franklinton by boosting the ideas of those who already reside there.
PEOPLE
PROPOSAL
in my first program proposal, I was focused more on the food industry, as Franklinton also lacks many healthy food options in both restaurants and stores. However, through feedback, it was brought to my attention that food trucks can be pushed far beyond their limits. Mobile businesses of all kinds will last longer and fill more needs than limiting entrepreneurs to only creating food trucks.
So i shifted my focus away from food and toward career building, using mobile businesses to bring employment and empowerment to the people of Franklinton.
PLACE
exploring Franklinton
By going to Franklinton, only about 10 minutes from where I live off campus, you could tell the immediate difference in support and funding in this community. We as a class got to see our 4 site options and observe their qualities and challenges.
After carful consideration, I decided to move forward with engine house 6, as I would be working with motor vehicles and wanted to tie into the history of the building. Also, I knew I would need more programmatic space if I were to be including any type of workshop space in this building, so the 2 story access seemed like the right fit.
above are some brainstorming thoughts and preliminary program ideas for my project. While my ideas were not clarified nor focused yet, this set me up to move towards the next steps in the process.
After our first design review at the end of the exploration phase, I was discouraged by some of my feedback. the initial reaction was that dealing with codes and having both food truck buildings and any sort of kitchen environment it would be nearly impossible. I was told to redirect my focus in one of the two areas and initially told to stay away from the trucks.
But this is where my passion was and the root of my capstone project. So I went against the opinions of others and dedicated myself to making this work.
Please see my "IDEATE" page to see how I continued to change and develop my ideas.
