Co-Designing the Classroom
This project was completed in collaboration with Danielle Begnaud of benyo studio.
Co-Designing the Classroom researched, ideated, and developed design improvements for the school environment that encourage student connection and attendance through understanding a student’s sense of belonging. The findings suggest that school spaces that foster belonging and engagement need to foster a spectrum of activities, provide students the freedom and flexibility to move between these activities, and allow students to feel “together but different.” After multiple rounds of feedback and iterative development with the students and adult stakeholders, the project resulted in three furniture-scale design solutions.
Co-Design is the process of designing with and for the people who the project is for. Instead of the designers being experts and bringing solutions, this method makes children equal partners in the design process through a long-term design relationship and a breaking down of the power dynamics between adults and children.
This is an independent project supported by a Faculty Research Fellowship from the Center for Art, Design, and Community Engagement K-12, Pratt Institute and supported by Independent Projects, a grant partnership of the New York State Council on the Arts and The Architectural League of New York. This program is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State legislature.