The other day I decided to sit at Union and just watch the ebb and flow of the night, to see how students interacted, and to see the various activities that took place in the hub of student activity here at Davidson. In the Union, it is quite clear what every area is for. Upstairs is meant for those students who want to study without the certainty of student interaction, but still with the possibility and the ability to hear the constant buzz of voices. The area for arts and crafts, although not being used at the time, is clearly designated for students who needed to make a poster. Level one allows students to watch tv, play some pool, grub a little, do homework, or just hang out with pals. This is the heart of the building and houses a majority of the Union population. On the first level, students are fearless to walk up to fellow friends, as they have less guilt in interrupting studies. This type of interaction seems to be fostered by the café, as food is typically a great conversation starter. All in all, the relaxed vibe is much more inviting than the second level. On the base level, there is so much space. Students are in and out checking their mailboxes, while other students have worked up a sweat competing in a not-so-friendly match of ping pong. The Union Station store is just a quick run in and out, but also has a very friendly quality in the air. The open, even though it is not always empty like it was this past Wednesday, is the most interpretative part of the entire building. It’s multifunctional possibilities are spacious enough to do cartwheels or set up other types of group activities. Although this floor was significantly quieter than the floor above it, it too has a very approachable feel. This is due in large part to its proximity to food, the Union Station. The entire design of the Union influences culture by spacing out the different activities that can occur within one building, while at the same time having them close enough to interact. For example, two friends were playing pool at the pool tables while a third friend sat at the table close by doing homework. All of them were chatting and none were bothered by the mixture of work and play. This interaction allowed the student to engage in a study session without missing out on the fun of conversation.
Second Union, The Space of Sitting
The second floor of Union is a space of many functions. It has tables near the Cafe, couches to sit around, a stage like setting in room 900, and areas to play pool and foosball. While looking around, I saw that the space provided does not give the option to do much rather than just sit and talk. There is not enough room to kick balls around, or have a good game of tag. The area was designed to get people to have conversations rather than engage in activities, even with the pool and foosball tables, you can stand around and have a conversation while beating your opponent. The space also makes room for people eating at the Davis Cafe. People use this room to sit, eat and either discuss homework in groups, or just talk about their day. I observed people sitting around with laptops or textbooks either by themselves or in groups to get homework done. The space influences a place where people can work but not get too bogged down with homework as the background noise of conversations ring in the ears of people hard at work.
The second floor makes it difficult to do anything active. The stage area is set up to give people some form of entertainment. As I was observing, it was Live Thursday and a band was playing some songs. This made it difficult for anyone to really carry a conversation because the music was pretty loud. So while the main function of the space is for having conversations, at times it throws that out and brings on a different theme. The other side of second floor has a couple of couches and a TV. This further cements the use of Union as a place of hanging out and either watching the Patriots shutting out the Texans or just getting comfortable and relaxing. Near the couches, the pool tables are around. This area is really the only place that people can play of some sorts. While it limits what type of games you can play, it is enough to exert whatever energy you have. Overall though, the design of the second floor of Union guides people to have conversations and homework discussions rather than any other kind of interactions. No play can be around other than games that have strict ways of playing. It is a space for relaxed people with no intention of doing any physical activities.
The Student’s Union
According to Davidson’s website, the Knobloch Campus Center is a “gathering place for students, faculty, staff, and visitors, providing opportunities for involvement in formal and informal activities”. Knobloch is made up of the Alvarez College Union and the Duke Performance Hall, the latter of which is insignificant to my observations. The Union, as it’s called, or at least my dorm calls it, features an atrium, game room, the Davis Cafe, and more, but I did not observe the rest. The purpose of the atrium, the most used aspect during my observation, is as written on the Davidson website:
“The atrium-a popular gathering, meeting, and study locale-is open to Davidson students around the clock throughout the academic year. The union is also home to the Davis Café, a fitness center, meeting spaces, and a variety of student organizations and services.”
Thus, the deliberate design of the setting is defined. It is important to note that Knobloch was once a gymnasium, built in 1948, but was remodeled in 2000 into its current, modern form. The purpose of the building has always been partly for recreation, but the use does not exactly match the purpose.
The second floor of the atrium is notably filled with tables, coaches, and chairs. Plenty of space for people to sit, talk, have fun, and maybe get some work done. This is exactly what students do in this area. 
People sit, and eat, but mostly talk and enjoy themselves with their friends. They friendly atmosphere is even appropriated into the Davis Cafe. The cafe is obviously for cooking and buying food, but students often may gather in small groups, maybe waiting for their food; but they start a conversation and end up enjoying themselves in the cafe itself, instead of the tables outside. This behavior did not seem too weird for me as the cafe is not a super quiet or unwelcoming setting, but this behavior is interesting in context of the game room. While the game room has billiard tables, and a foosball table is nearby, they are notably empty. I am yet to see someone 
play with them at all, even though that is their exact design and purpose. In fact, people are not even around them often, but stay on the cafe side of the atrium and leave the game room completely empty. The laughter and loud talking of everyone on the second floor makes its way up to the third floor, which unlike the rest of the union, is designed for study. The third floor is filled with desks, tables, and separators in an obvious orientation to promote quiet work. Once again people follow the design and work at these desks, but the noise from below changes the setting, some may have to put in headphones to cancel it out, try and ignore it, or even talk themselves. The physical set up of the third floor has an intention of studying, but the sounds of the floor below create an atmosphere that at times can lead to appropriating the third floor as an extension of the social second floor. In this way, the second floor, made for the social, talkative environment it holds, has the power to change the nearby areas designated for other purposes, disrupting other activities that where intended.
Overall the building has provided an obvious, and well followed design for use, but has allowed for the domination of the social context over the intellectual.
The Student’s Union
According to Davidson’s website, the Knobloch Campus Center is a “gathering place for students, faculty, staff, and visitors, providing opportunities for involvement in formal and informal activities”. Knobloch is made up of the Alvarez College Union and the Duke Performance Hall, the latter of which is insignificant to my observations. The Union, as it’s called, or at least my dorm calls it, features an atrium, game room, the Davis Cafe, and more, but I did not observe the rest. The purpose of the atrium, the most used aspect during my observation, is as written on the Davidson website:
“The atrium-a popular gathering, meeting, and study locale-is open to Davidson students
Thus, the deliberate design of the setting is defined. It is important to note that Knobloch was once a gymnasium, built in 1948, but was remodeled in 2000 into its current, modern form. The purpose of the building has always been partly for recreation, but the use does not exactly match the purpose.
The second floor of the atrium is notably filled with tables, coaches, and chairs. Plenty of space for people to sit, talk, have fun, and maybe get some work done. This is exactly what students do in this area. People sit, and eat, but mostly talk and enjoy themselves with their friends. They friendly atmosphere is even appropriated into the Davis Cafe. The cafe is obviously for cooking and buying food, but students often may gather in small groups, maybe waiting for their food; but they start a conversation and end up enjoying themselves in the cafe itself, instead of the tables outside. This behavior did not seem too weird for me as the cafe is not a super quiet or unwelcoming setting, but this behavior is interesting in context of the game room. While the game room has billiard tables, and a foosball table is nearby, they are notably empty. I am yet to see someone play with them at all, even though that is their exact design and purpose. In fact, people are not even around them often, but stay on the cafe side of the atrium and leave the game room completely empty. The laughter and loud talking of everyone on the second floor makes its way up to the third floor, which unlike the rest of the union, is designed for study. The third floor is filled with desks, tables, and separators in an obvious orientation to promote quiet work. Once again people follow the design and work at these desks, but the noise from below changes the setting, some may have to put in headphones to cancel it out, try and ignore it, or even talk themselves. The physical set up of the third floor has an intention of studying, but the sounds of the floor below create an atmosphere that at times can lead to appropriating the third floor as an extension of the social second floor. In this way, the second floor, made for the social, talkative environment it holds, has the power to change the nearby areas designated for other purposes, disrupting other activities that where intended.
Overall the building has provided an obvious, and well followed design for use, but has allowed for the domination of the social context over the intellectual.
Union and Unity
Looking down from the uppermost level, the Davidson Union acts as a three story social playground. On the ground floor, there is a large, empty space with sparse chairs and tables, opening it up to be an area of imaginative play. In the open space, there is a lone ping-pong table that seems to be an invitation for play, calling out to bored students for a few rounds of amateur table tennis. To the side, there are several enclosed rooms with glass windows and colorful couches for meetings. Unlike actual board rooms, the lively color of the walls and chairs are a lot more unprofessional and seem to create a casual atmosphere.
The second floor is much more structured. It is divided into an area for play and an area for food. On the furthest side, there are few interactive activities other than an area to buy food and a place to eat it at. The closely placed tables serve to increase more social activities and conversation rather than play. The other side is drastically different although is no less structured. There is a place to watch TV, an area for billiards, and foosball. The only thing you could do at the pool table is billiards and the only thing you could do at the foosball table is foosball. The television area, however, groups together different sets of people and changes based on what channel it is on. During my visit, Friends re-run was taking place and only a few people were there to discuss it and laugh along to the sitcom. Other days I have seen people watch college football, politics, and even the weather channel. Despite the vastly different channels, the space still serves as an area for communication and mingling.
The third floor is the most structured. There are computers on every side as well as more business-like meeting rooms with no lively colored decorations. There are several offices made specifically for a certain purpose such as the chaplain’s office. Loud voices, although not unallowed, is certainly not encouraged. Most people upstairs do work quietly or have smaller meetings with no real room for play of any kind. The layout of few tables and scattered desktops almost seems to discourage play.
As you ascend the floors of the Union, there is an increasingly structural layout in regards to play both visually and audibly. Although rather quiet, the first floor had the most room for play as one could enjoy a game of ping pong or kickball whenever there is a ball pit there. The second floor is the loudest and most encouraging for play as it is split up into designated areas for games, entertainment, and nourishment. The last floor is a quiet place for work and reflection so there is very little play involved. Despite all this, the three floors share in common a specific aspect of play which is unity. Whether it is the chaplain’s office for religious discussion or the lunch tables, the union encourages communication with others and finding enjoyment in activities that are not always necessarily game spaces.
Library: study and chill
Library, a place that most students would spend time in, help students to gain accesses to both physical and digital materials and provide the navigation from librarians. I pick the E.H. Little Library’s first floor as an example.
The library includes large and quiet spaces, with computers and white boards. Its primary colors are red, brown (black) and cream, which create a warm but calm atmosphere. Affected by this environment, students in most cases, will focus on their work rather than talk loudly. Even chatting, they will try to keep their voices in a low volume in order to maintain the silence. Wood-made chairs and tables echo the color of bookshelves. I don’t always see people roaming the stacks maybe because the solemnity of books shapes people’s respects towards them.
Different designs of chairs add liveliness to this serious space. Rocking chairs help students to relax while studying while the bouncing chairs contribute playfulness. Reading represents stability while rocking or bouncing stands for moving. The combination of quiescence and movement made the learning process meaningful. Large tables bring a sense of community at the same time, so students can walk around and find their study-partners or meet new friends rather than sitting alone. Also the availability of sofa and white boards can let people have discussions when facing bottlenecks. Watching people drink coffee, draw lines and forms on the whiteboard, I can feel their confidence of sharing opinions with others.
The implantation of extra-large windows not only inject more sun-lights into the space, but also enhance the natural features. The outside natural features, like trees, grasses and birds, contribute beautiful elements as well as liberation to the library. When tired of studying, people can appreciate the nature by looking out. Besides the windows are portraits relate to Davidson’s history. It’s easy to find some students idling by watching at these portraits without move.
There are different tutoring centers locate in this floor. I can see people hurry in or out of those centers, with smile or thoughtful expressions. I imagine that staying with a serious tutor needs courage. But the design of those centers avoid that kind of tense atmosphere. Because these centers were surrounded by glass windows which can carefully control the light and connect spaces so that both inside and outside people can see each other. The insiders bury themselves in tutors’ words and try to find solutions themselves.
Patrick Henderson-WRI 101-Blog Post 2
I observed the field next to the Union for 30 minutes. I chose to study this particular space due to the openness of it. The field is empty except for a large rugby goal post. This leaves the intensions very vague. The designer did not appear to have a particular purpose in mind when building the space. This intrigued me, I had thought about going to the gym and observing there, yet the was very linear. The only reason people would go there would be to work out. I wanted to focus on an open space where the options were not limited by design. An open field such as this is not the same as a sports field. There are no lines, nothing to indicate its purpose, this only heightened my curiosity. It was a place where anyone could play anything. When I arrived people were playing a game that seem to be baseball and cricket combined. They did not stay long enough for me to figure out the rules exactly. Yet they used the stone stairs/walls that line the side of the field closest to the dorms as a “natural” sideline. They chose to play in the corner of the field, this struck me as very creative. The game would benefit from having lines on the field to indicate out of bounds and other key elements, yet it has none. So the players moved the game into a more confided space that limited the field due to its own natural shape. The baseball game ended, but they were almost immediately replaced by a large Frisbee game. This game instead used the open field as a way to play. They had cones, which they used to change the space to fit their needs. That is the beauty of an open field, it is malleable. The space has no rigid design or purpose; this allows people to transform it in any way they desire. Some used the natural barriers built into the field as a way to play. Others used the openness given to them in the center of the field as their play space. The Field easily accommodated both because the purpose is unclear, the space is theirs to create and play with. I am sure the field at one point had a specific game in mind, but with time it has adapted and grown into a place where people can go to play and create.
Roundabout – Social or Just Traffic?
For my public space I examined the small walkway roundabout that is located outside of Chambers, and contains the Waves III sculpture in the center of the circle. Upon first arriving I immediately noticed some key things about the layout which hint at its purpose but also its more unintended purposes. The circle rests at a crossroads of sorts, as it has five separate paths that branch off and go to other places on campus: Chambers, the various dorms, the Library, Union, etc. At the center of the crossroads stands Waves III, and serves as a point of interest. Around the circle in the surrounding grass is a bench, and four outdoor lounge chairs; trees are scattered around and provide shade. First thought seems to suggest that this place is a place of pragmatic use, walkways leading to where you need to go, with some nice decorations to smile at but not stop for. And I observed this behavior frequently. Even so, I noticed that the opposite was also happening. While this place does facilitate a simple “point A to point B” mentality, others stopped and talked. They used the statue and the small perimeter of bricks around it as a place to stop and relax, and even to play Pokemon GO. The chairs contained people reading, enjoying a nice atmosphere and opening themselves up to interaction, even though they are doing an inherently individual activity.
The pragmatic aspect is still dominant though, as I saw multiple people walking to class or other destinations, joggers, cyclists, even a grounds crew golf cart rode very close to the circle (although not on it directly). The location of the place itself does make it a very practical place for people trying to reach different locations on campus. So individuals don’t feel compelled necessarily to stop and say hello to everyone, it’s understood that they have a goal and need to reach it. Groups of people travelling together stay that way, as they keep within their bubble as they reach their group goal. The circle overall does have an interesting ambivalent design, as it is quite practical, but still has enough superfluous structures and accessories that it can also serve as a place of social engagement. The chairs, bench, and statue aren’t needed for the roundabout to serve its function. However since they are present, the space does not become a solely functional space, it also opens it up to more possibilities of social interaction and recreation.
United in the Union
The Alvarez College Union is designed for many potential interactions. Entering from the main entrance on the third floor, you are first greeted with a fire place and information desk that is located on the left. On the opposite side of the fire place two couches are found just in front of the fire opening. Students here are found socializing, talking and sometimes sleeping. Being seated on couches instead of chairs, and in front of a fire place instead of a television, gives a cosy and opening encouragement. The couches allow you to lay back and relax. A fire place being there instead of a television does not allow for people to block out the people and things around them. Your eyes are not glued on an interesting episode, instead you are encouraged to focus on what is present and the people around you. The rest of the 3rd floor is divided into two halves. One half is the Davis cafe dining area and the other is the entertainment area. The dinning area encourages socializing by groups of people. Most tables are large and consist from four to eight chairs. The entertainment side does have have a television and is equipped with pool and foosball tables. This side encourages play and energy. The activities allow for some fun and soda machines are located directly behind the pool tables which gives it an arcade theme. This side is less social and the people who sit on this side are not studying unlike those near the fireplace. The people here have their eyes glued to the television or the place where they are playing. Less food is eaten on this side and the people who are eating there seem to be alone. It is if the floor has a magical line going down the middle which separate two total opposite purposes. The flow from the dinning area to the entertainment is seemingly accepted and done frequently. The opposite is not as common. Taking a pool stick or moving to foosball table to the dining side is rarely to never done. Play is not encouraged on the dining side nor accepted by the cluster of tables and chairs.
More than just a football field
I sat on the bench next to the football field and watched the football team practicing for 30 minutes. I have seen a lot of games but it was my first time concentrated on the design of the field instead of the players. The first thing I noticed was the dimension of the field. About 110 yards in length and 55 yards in width, the rectangular shaped playground catches my eyes immediately because of its bright colors and obvious white yard marks. The capital letter D in the middle represents the school spirit and adds some red in the field of green. Besides the yard marks, the side lines and orange cones were also apparent on the ground. On the both ends of the field, there are two fork-shaped yellow goal posts. At the first glance, the playground is undoubtedly designated to play football as the goal posts and yard marks are only present in football fields. Therefore, I assume the playgrounds can only be used in this way whenever I see the goal posts present. However, after the football team finished their practice and went off the field, I suddenly saw a bunch of children and students occupied the field. They started to throw baseball and play soccer. More surprisingly, there were kids running around the field just simply for fun. This scene challenged my original perception about the use of the field. The goal posts and yard marks explicitly suggest the playground should be used for football but they also imply that it could be exploited in other ways. For example, the field is relatively open than tennis or basketball court, which means it is closer to nature. People can even sit on the field and enjoy the sunshine without physically moving their bodies. The field is made of turf grass which means it is easier for the ball to bounce and safer for little children to play around. The design of the field influences how people would interact with each other. Its openness and massiveness suggest a form of free play. Although it is designed to be a football field, people can definitely appropriate this space for other games that either involve running or not. It is unlikely for people to play games that only involve a few people like chess because it would be a waste of space. However, there are also restrictions in an open space. People could hardly access the field when it snows or rains. Therefore, the design encourages people to play when the weather is suitable.