Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Observing People & Places on Campus
Before class on Monday (May 3), I would like you to practice observing a public space on campus and how people use it. You’ll need to reserve about 45 minutes for this exercise, and what I’d like you to do is find a space on campus—like Jazzman’s, Driscoll Green, or a nearly coffee shop—where you can practice taking field notes. You’ll need to write down your observations in as detailed a way as you can. Describe the space, its layout and design, colors, smells, objects—whatever you can observe. Then describe the people you see there, what they are doing, how they interact with the space and each other. If you can, I’d like you to interview a few people briefly and ask them about how they use this space and why it is significant to them. Last, you’ll need to type up your field notes and post them to our blog before class on Monday, May 3.
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2nd Floor Lounge
ReplyDeleteSturm Hall
1:20 pm
April 29, 2010
Half walls surround lounge and make it feel isolated
The space is long and surrounded by brick walls
The chairs are red, tan, and navy
The coffee tables match the wooden half-walls that surround the room
A large abstract painting hangs on the wall across from the lounge. It is mostly beige, with blotches of black and brown
The carpet has a busy pattern of gold, red, and blue
Footsteps echo from the nearby stair well
Disorderly newspapers cover the coffee tables that sit within each cluster of chairs
It smells strongly of pasta throughout the entire lounge
Most people in the lounge are studying quietly
Some use this space as a place to talk quietly with friends
The boy next to me is slouched in his chair and sleeping soundly
People seem to avoid the cushioned benches that separate the seating area
People are making small talk about classes
Laughing can be heard from down the hall
A woman speaking with a heavy French accent enters the room and offers us all leftover pasta from the French teacher lunch. When nobody moves or answers she leaves disappointed and begins flagging down other students in the hallway
The leather chairs squeal as people shift in their seats
The French teacher returns and speaks to a student in French who then follows her to the pasta
As a class gets out people flood into the lounge. The lounge is now loud with multiple conversations
University Hall Lobby
ReplyDeleteFriday April 30, 2010
12:30 PM
There are two types of seating that are available in the lobby: two long rectangular red comfy backless couches and two yellow smaller octagon shaped couches.
There are multiple framed pictures on the white walls of different significant figures important to the University of Denver among other important DU photos.
There is one computer on each side of the long hallway shaped lobby with the DU homepage opened for admissions.
The bathrooms are strategically placed on opposite sides of the long hallway and I was asked multiple times where the men’s bathroom as I was observing.
There are a couple doors on each side of the long hallway that lead to conference rooms and offices.
I explored the area a little more and observed that there were two sub lobbies on the right side and the left side of the hallway. The one on the left had two red couches and two maroon leather chair and a tan wooden table. There is also a book case full of books.
The right side of the hallway is a lot simpler with one bench with a red cushion on top of it. There are two smaller hallways that stem off from this waiting room that lead to offices.
There were four main groups of people who interacted with this environment:
Office workers (admissions people, ect.)
Visiting Parents
Visiting Students
University of Denver students
The lobby area is quiet for the most part, but one can hear the quiet echo of various conversations as they echo through the hallway. People tend to walk through the lobby every one or two minutes. Some people know where they are going (people who work there) while others are very puzzled and ask one for help to where they are going.
The benches outside of Centennial Halls are used very frequently by the students. There are two wood benches attached to cement, that is painted white. There is a large sidewalk that they are in front of. There are many people walking in and out of the building as you sit there. There are bushes and grass that are behind the wall. Many students sit and smoke cigarettes at them. Many of them interact with each other and chat about classes and their weekend plans as they relax. Sometimes people sit on them to socialize. People are sometimes alone, smoking or making phone calls on them. Often people will sit there and wait for rides to come get them. Often cars will pull up on the curb to wait for their friends. While sitting on them you can see a house on the corner across the street. You can see the side of the house, and a parking lot of gravel that is usually filled with nice cars. You can also see a fence, and other houses across the street that face the benches. It has an outdoorsy smell, but obviously smells like cigarette smoke often. The sidewalk in front has a dirty appearance, and the benches themselves are clearly used and worn down. There is an ash tray on the right side of the benches, and you can see a bike rack to the right. The ash tray ironically has a smoke free DU sign on it, even though everyone uses it to throw their cigarette butts in, and smoke next to. There is a large tree that you can see from across the street. The plants give it a relaxed, outdoorsy setting.
ReplyDeleteStarbucks. The world-wide known coffee shop. The aroma of the coffee beans and the assortments of delicious pastries fill the air. A couple tables, a couple booths, and a couple a couple of comfy armed chairs to relax in. “One grande iced chai tea.” “Venti non-fat latte.” These are the sounds that fill the air, as you watch who gets their plush coffee drink. There are shelves filled with their signature coffee beans, water bottles, coffee mugs, and an array of other Starbuck’s goodies. It is a quaint little area, nothing too overwhelming or underwhelming. Looking outside of the windowed walls you can see the streets filled with cars and people carrying on with their busy lives. But being in here, that hectic world stops for a moment. The relaxing music and atmosphere created just allow you to put your worries to the side and sit and let whatever you wish engulf your life. That is while you sip your signature Starbucks drink.
ReplyDeleteThis little world of escape consists of its own population as well. All types of people reside here. From the studious college student, to the bubbly teenage girl, to the typical soccer mom with her kids and finally to those older couples who just sit and observe. Why could such a place attract such a vast array of people? Just sitting, observing, and trying to judge their reasons didn’t provide any sort of validation. Something needed to be asked. First up was a younger man probably in his mid to late 20s. I casually struck up a conversation with him, as I noticed his CPA accounting books. Luckily my brother just finished his CPA testing, so this was common ground. Obviously what was learned were his reasons for being there were to get away from the typical study environment which seemed to stress him out even more. Next on the list was an older couple, just sitting and having a cup of coffee. They were here to just get away on a Sunday afternoon and have a relaxing day. Going here, they explained, was their tradition every Sunday, just to get out and enjoy. As I didn’t want to bombard everyone in Starbucks, I left it at that. However, from observance I infer that the “soccer mom” maybe just needed her caffeine boost to get her through the day. No matter what the case, everyone their specific different reasons to be there. This common place intertwined everyone from different aspects of life just to get away from it all for a short period of time.
Chipotle on Evans
ReplyDeleteMay 2, 2010
12:57
Being addicted to Chipotle I have been to Chipotles most places I go. Luckily I choice DU to go to because the first Chipotle ever is located about a block away from school. I have been in this specific Chipotle many times yet I have never sat and observed the scene. When opening the door, the scent of what I know as the biggest burritos in the whole world fill your nose. I walk straight up to the counter, which is made of metal and light brown wood. The friendly woman working asked me what I wanted. There are so many options and it’s all up for you to decide what you want. As you continue to the end of the counter you reach the black register. The man there rings you up and gave me the bag of chips and the drink that I ordered. It all seemed to be ordinary yet as I sit and observe, I noticed the interesting architecture. The ruffled metal and the light brown wood that complemented the room and each other better than you could image. The atmosphere is light with the glass surrounded walls and little hanging glass light structures the room is lit. There are three eating bars which line the glass walls with round stools. There is one square table that fills the room. I sat at the one square table in one of the four wooden square chairs. I watched the line at the counter fill and then the room would be louder with the people talking over the fast tempo music. As people came in I noticed there was two types of people one in which they were relaxed and with friends chatting and excited to be there, and one in which they were busy and seemed occupied. Many people came in and sat down to eat their food, but the rushed people were sure to get their food to go. Even though people were busy or not the employees were always friendly and greeted each one with a smile. Overall Chipotle is a place were many people go to grab a bite and will continue going because of the food and fast service.
Denver Botanical Gardens on York Street
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I missed the part of the assignment specifiying a location near campus, and so did my field notes in a location a little bit further away.
The area I sat in was the American Garden, consisting largely of tulips, pansies, and various other flowers. The tulips were all in warm yellows, oranges and reds, with green leaves with yellow rims curling gently in waves. The pansies were planted solidly around them, in brilliant blues and royal purples, with bright yellow centers. There were sprigs of red lettuce planted around the plots, which were arranged in squares, and surrounded by pavement and white stone. There was a nearby hill behind the bench where I sat, with a small flock of geese walking up its steep grassy slopes, and loitering around a Henry Moore statue at the top. The statue was part of a temporary collection at the gardens; another copper one was standing in a pond to my left, and I could see a large white one out of the corner of my right eye. There was a tent directly in front of me, beyond the flower garden, being taken down from an event that had closed down the entire garden a day before. The bench I sat on was grey and wooden, big enough for two, but I sat on it alone.
It wasn't too crowded that day, because it was cloudy and a little bit cold. There were pretty obvious patterns of people who came by to admire the flowers, though. One popular type were parents with young children; anywhere from preschool to elementary school, old enough to talk and walk around own their own, but young enough to be genuinely enthralled by these flower gardens. Many of the parents would talk to the children about what colors they could find, or if they could count ten flowers, etc. There were at LEAST five of six separate groups like this. Another type of group that went through were older people in pairs or in larger groups, who looked like they could possibly be regulars to the park, and simply browsed the garden. They usually spent the least amount of time there. Something that really surprised me though, was the huge amount of photographers that I saw. There were people who were standing among the plots with their tripods and very expensive-looking cameras, taking very serious-looking pictures for up to half an hour or morning. I was a little surprised that I did not see any other artists who were sketching or drawing the flowers, which was what I had been doing earlier in a different spot. However, the photographers were popular visitors all around the park, whether they had the large lenses, or just little point-and-shoot cameras. One, who I talked to, said that she came back to the garden periodically, as different plants came into bloom and others died. One of the great things about the gardens, she said, was that they were always changing, and that there was always something new to shoot.
Third Level of the Penrose Library:
ReplyDeleteThe walls are painted red and orange and the air vents match the color of the walls.
There are large windows looking out to the campus and Evans.
Many of the same clocks hang on the walls like the ones you see in classrooms.
There are many tan, large tables with different kinds of chairs surrounding it. There are soft orange chairs and there are hard orange chairs. Many of the chairs look alike; black and hard. But there are some chairs that are gray blue that look like the black chair.
There are also wooden cubicles with a little shelf built into it.
There are statue of birds in a cooper coating.
There is orange carpet that has many impressions of shoe markings.
There are also wooding coat hooks.
There is a sticky note on the pillar in front of me.
There is a white ceiling with the long light bulbs.
There are large recycle bins in every corner with a smaller trash bin on the side of it.
There are also fire extinguishers hanging on the white color pillars.
I am not quite sure of the smell since I am all congested from allergy.
The upper level of the library is very quiet the only noises that you hear are sight whispers, the air vent, ruffling of papers and the clicking of keys on a laptop keyboard.
Finally there are many books on metal shelves. And the walk way between each shelf is very narrow. But there are very long walk ways and paths.
People:
Every student in the section I am in are on their laptops except for one student that is eating their chipotle without a computer in front of him.
Many are studying and reading all of their assignment that is on paper.
Many people are sitting alone and at separate table and one table has three people.
Many people are focus on what they are doing and some have their head phones in.
Not many people are walking around but the ones that are packing up to leave.
There is the same amount of males to females in this section.
There haven’t been any new people coming in.
Many of people are dressed in sweats or jeans.
Interview:
Student One: I like to come to the library because there are a lot fewer distractions here than there are at my dorm. It is easier to get my work done and retain more information because I am focused on what I need to do.
Student Two: The reason why I think the library is significant because it allows you to do your homework in a quiet place other than in a dorm room or classroom. Also, there are many resources like printers, books, and staff that can help you with the assignment. The reason why I like to use this space because everyone knows that a library is a place where you can go and do your homework in a quiet place and so everyone using it the same way because it is the rule everyone knows.
The Community Garden
ReplyDelete4:33 pm
May 2nd, 2010
People visit the community garden for different reasons. Behind the manipulating white picket fence, the garden is run down; I see dead plants, a large pile of compost, a circle of plastic chairs, a delicate bridge, and an abundant amount of dirt. The smells vary as people come and go. Today it was the smell of the wind: earthy and pure. When a few friends arrived, thick curls of smoke filled the air. It was time for Hookah! Clouds of cigarette smoke and strawberry flavored hashish destroy the earthy smell. A few familiar faces pull up the plastic chairs available in the garden. Conversation begins among friends. I hear laughter, coughing after exhaling, and a lot of chatter about the past weekend. In the garden, cigarette buts replace flowers with the exception of a few striving plants and shrubbery. An ashtray was created using multiple bricks and it looks as if there was a small fire burning in the compacted space. This place is significant to the freshmen at DU because it is a place for students to escape the stressors of life. We sit in a circle and unwind between hits of hookah and tobacco. Especially with the recent smoking ban, the garden is where a large group of people from Centennial Halls and Towers venture to smoke in peace. People venture to the garden to appreciate the essence of nature as we are trapped in this city built of concrete and brick. The sky and the clouds are beautiful. The sun just hid behind a puffy, white cloud and the sun illuminates the cloud’s silver lining from behind. There is a beautiful light emerging from behind the cloud. Dogs bark from the neighbors next door and birds chirp as they flutter about the garden. I see some recent attempts to improving this garden with lack of any flowers, trees, or plants. To the right of the chairs lays a painted shed. The design consists of flowers-tulips and roses, along with a collage of various images. The colors are more powerful then one would things. The sky is pale blue and the trees across the street are flourishing. The sun is bright and I can feel the warm rays of sun on my blanched skin. The garden is a communal place where all members of the neighborhood go for different reasons. Some neighbors dislike the fact that DU students smoke in the garden, but hey, its our community garden too!
Centennial Halls Lobby
ReplyDelete6:45pm to 7:30pm
Sunday Afternoon
The layout is somewhat simple, in the middle is the office desk by one lady RA (resident assistant) with cushy chairs surrounding the front and to the left are plants and tables for people's laptops along with plastic/wire-leg chairs.
I hear pop music (Lean on Me) music streaming from the RA's computer.
Constant footsteps, of shoes and the click-clack sound that only comes from flip flops.
I hear fuzzy conversations of small talk
Constant beeping from security doors
The color of the tiles are mostly turqoise and red plus the yellow lighting from the ceilings illuminates the lobby into a darker yellow
From my viewpoint, you can see people playing soccer, but not the field
I can see to the right several vending machines and more windows
The sound of the elevator is constant
Many people enter and leave with plactic bags that make that swishy noise
There are four white posts designed in small-tiled squares
Some things that people were doing were:
Two girls to my left reading something scholarly or checking facebook on their laptops, one PC, one Mac; the latter girl is typing while constantly looking around.
As I walk by the bathroom I smell the chlorine that penetrates my nose.
The students that I interviewed stated their uses of Centennial Halls Lobby and how it was significant to them:
Jeremey Jackson-"I use the lobby to walk through and occasionally for homework and waiting for people.
Danzal Hollis-"[I use this area] to do homework on the beanbags and the couches. I've had lunch meetings and interviews here."
-"It helps me not to fall asleep in my bed."
-"The Convenience Store [in lobby] allows me to eat snacks when the dining hall is closed"
-"I use the printer a lot."
As she said her last quotation, I noticed that the printer had a large pink sign covering the touch-screen monitor. The sign read, "Printer Down-sorry for the inconvenience," this caused, in my opinion a major shortage of people in the lobby as well as less traffic.
Then I began with my final interview of an RA (Resident Assistant) whom I was curious to see what her perspective was on the lobby at Centennial Halls.
Caitlin (RA)-"I use this area for my programs to get resident attention."
-"I watch people go by."
-"I don't really do anything..."
I also noticed when speaking to people in the lobby that every conversation echoes to the entire lobby. As I am conducting this observation, I say hi to people I know passing by using phrases such as, "Sup man," or "What up dude."
There is more that goes on as the time passes by for instance:
One girl is sitting alone by herself trying to read a book but is constantly peering at her peers and striking short conversations, I interviewed her and it turns out she was waiting for someone.
People use the lobby to go to different places whether within the dorm itself or to go work out.
I see people going to eat and coming back with soft-serve ice cream or oranges/apples.
I see a guy carrying his laundry bag to and from the laundry room
I see a girl carrying her laundry basket to the elevator and her patient eyes in waiting for it.
There are people who walk past the front desk either curiously peering to see who the RA is or even stopping to say hi, one girl asks for assistance with something.
There are people coming from the Convenience Store with Chips Ahoy and Green Tea.
As you can see there are various ways in which the freshman and sophomore RA's use and interact in Centennial Halls lobby. Many of them use the tables, couches and chairs as a place to study and finish up homework. Others use it to wait for friends and to get away from their tiny dorm room. Whichever way people use it, it is a vital part of the dormitory since it has such dynamic uses.
It is bright and sunny at the Driscoll Green today. There are people sitting at the red tables by the seasonal grill stand, which smells of cooking burgers. There is a short line in front of the stand, and lots of people eating burgers, hot dogs, and chicken sandwiches. There are other people, mostly girls sitting or laying in the grass in small groups of 2-5 people. The grass is thick and green; well kept by the campus maintenance. The few white clouds are rolling slowly in front of the bright sun. Lots of people are wearing sunglasses on and are talking happily. Most everyone is sitting out here relaxing except for a group of frat guys playing Frisbee in front of their house. When class gets out, large groups of students walk out of Sturm Hall and down the steps and head away from the building, while others start talking with friends by the stairs and tables at the entrance. Some of them are smoking. There is a table set up with some guys around it, one of them dressed as a banana. There is loud music coming from the table. It’s Milkman, who is playing a show here in a few weeks, and these guys are promoting it. There is a growing group of people around the table, talking and laughing, as time goes on and more people get out of class. Students are coming from either side of the green and walking around the grass on the brick path, a lot of them texting or talking on the phone. Others are walking and talking with friends on their way to class, lunch or their dorm. One girl I interviewed states: “I just come out here after class and smoke and talk to my friends before my next class in an hour. It takes too much time to just go back to my dorm for ten minutes and the leave. It’s been nice lately, so it’s nice just to sit out here and chill for a while”. Another person says that they never really stop at the green; they just walk by on the way to class.
ReplyDeleteThe Playground at Wash Park
ReplyDeleteThe playground is full of various equipment, from swings and slides to bars and platforms. There are several children of all ages playing every time I come here. The sticks and gravel on the ground are torn up, indicating that this area is well-used and a little over loved. It smells like a park; an almost indescribable scent of fresh air mixed with the dust of the gravel, and sometimes the guests being their own smells with them. A little girl had picked some flowers and scattered them all down the slide, creating a flower-pedal landing for all the children. When asked "how do you like to use this space?" the 6-year-old named Kristina said "I like to play". Those words can be used to speak for everyone here at the park. Yes, they're simple, but they're also meaningful. That's what this park appears to be for. The sun shines brightly and warms the bars and the swings and slides, and the rowdy, energetic kids are blowing off steam as fast as they can. It's difficult to get another one to slow down so I can talk to them. One 9-year-old boy named James says, "This is my favorite place. I come here every say after school with my friends". I catch him sitting on the bench to tie his shoe, then just like that, he's up and running in circles again. There is constant laughter, sometimes a few cries for "mom" or "dad", sometimes whispering of secrets, but most of all, loud obnoxious yelling exchanged between friends. Never saying anything of importance, the kids here are simply just "playing"
Penrose
ReplyDeleteSunday night, May 2, 2010
Main floor of the library is louder than upstairs, where most students sit in cubiles, isolated from the rest of the world
It’s color scheme is somewhat monotone and bland, like most libraries
The layout is pretty simple-open floor plan with different corners of the space representing the writing center, research center, printing center
When you walk in, you notice the front desk and the drop boxes
The smells of old books and musty carpet greet you
The lighting is dim, which adds to the monotone feeling
Once passing the front desk, there are about 4 or 5 rounded tables filled with computers for any one to use, whether they need to look up a book or just browse the internet
Pass these tables, the right side of the library constrains long working desks, usually occupied by study groups
To the left, the research center and printing station, both with library helpers ready at any time to assist you
Just by the stairs, there’s a snack cart for all the students hard at work who can’t squeeze in a few minutes to run to University for some Spicy Pickle or Greeks
The cart provides the little buzzing background sound that blends with the quiet chit chat of the students and workers
Without interviewing individuals, I gained the sense of importance that Penrose provides those in need of a working space, and even escape filled with tons of interesting sources
Location: Varsity Athlete Training Room, Ritchie Center
ReplyDeleteTime: 9:00-10:00 am
I walk in and people are all around, busy time of day although not many teams are getting ready to practice.
4 trainers are here, Katie (womens lacrosse) Julie (Gymnastics) Becky (Hockey and whoever else needs help) and Mike( mens lacrosse). However people from almost every sport are here.
There are volleyball players in the ice tub, even though they didn't have a conditioning day.
There is a skier on a work table wearing a game ready (ice and compression machine) just chatting away with a tennis player next to him.
I walk over to a training table and jump on, heating me knee and shoulder in the process (might as well kill two birds with one stone ha). As I hop on people are coming in and out, like a mini social gathering.
It smells like clorox and lysol, very sterile environment although people are laying sweaty on the tables and walking around barefoot.
The conversations are all over the place. Since athletes register for classes early there are many people talking about teachers and which ones don't mind a lot of absences or leaving class early for practices or trips.
Other conversations revolve around injured knees or sore shoulders and what kind of rehab should be done.
and of course... the infamous training room gossip.
This is the funniest part of this twisted mini-culture inside DU. Not only are these athletes getting and giving the inside scoop in the "athlete" group on campus, they are gossiping and talking about the life of the "non-athletes". In the training room these reference are actually used.
One conversation was about how a persons season just ended and they said "I can finally be a normal student now. Border on wednesday night!"
To athletes in the training room the average student goes out on weekdays and spend their time partying.
Other scenes in the training room include people actually getting in rehab. There are good athletes working up a sweat while doing calf raises on the side and building up broken down muscles.
All in all this place is very interesting, especially to me as i'm usually the one involved in all of these different scenes.