This past September, students from the Graphic Design Packaging and Environments class collaborated with the Interior Design III class to participate in PARK(ing) Day, an annual worldwide event where artists, designers and citizens transform parking spots into temporary public parks. Taking this concept one step further, the classes were asked to pick social issues to tackle within six 18′ x 10′ parking spaces, which they needed to construct from the ground up, providing everything from the concept, to the signage, walls, seating and displays.
The original mission of PARK(ing) Day, which began in San Francisco in 2005, was to call attention to the need for more urban open space, to generate critical debate around how public space is created and allocated, and to improve the quality of the urban human habitat. The graphic design and interior design students were asked to choose a social issue on which to focus, and to find a way to present that topic within the temporary space. Twenty-four of our students took part in the annual event, transforming six parking spaces into opportunities for passers-by to learn more about subjects ranging from negative self-image to reducing one’s carbon footprint. For four weeks, students from two classes worked together to create concepts, plan the space, build the space and design a giveaway piece that would allow visitors to remember and continue to learn from the experience.
(Event summary by Vanessa Orr)
For more on PARK[ing] Day visit: www.parkingday.org.
La Roche College: September 21, 2012, 10am–1pm
