From ETS

Overview

I've wanted to create a more casual meeting space in ETS since I arrived. With the move of the Faculty Multimedia Center to the UP Digital Commons in Pollock, we are looking to renovate that existing space. One scenario I keep returning to is a place where a conversation that starts in a formal meeting could spill over to this more informal space. Not really a conference room, but a shared environment for individual or group activity. I like the metaphor of Cafe ETS. A place that different small groups or individuals could gather to share ideas in one place.

You can view a short video of the plans over at our Youtube page.

Supported Activities

• Ad-hoc meetings
• Informal discussions
• Brainstorming
• Gaming
• Reading
• Relaxing
• Thinking

Proposed Plans

• Remove all existing furniture
• Raise the long work top in the back to bar height
• Place 4 bar stools under the bar height work surface
• Mount a large screen plasma/LCD on the front wall
• Place 4 comfortable chairs around a low coffee table
• Paint the room
• Remove the overhead lighting
• Add floor and table lighting
• Add a bookcase for reading materials
• Add a white board to support brainstorming

Technology

To support the broad range of activities, the space must provide affordances via technology. The environment will have:

• Authenticated wireless Internet access
• Large flat panel plasma/LCD with the following capabilities:
  • Project from a connected laptop (Windows and Mac)
  • XBox 360
  • Playstation 3
  • Wii
• Whiteboard
• Machine to drive hallway display This has been solved by Jason Heffner and the use of video over IP. It is very cool.
• Group iChat and Adobe Connect Pro use

Progress Pictures

Furniture

The image below shows the furniture I am proposing as of today 5/18/2008. Everything has been ordered with the exception of the bookcase. The room size wouldn't support it.

Colors

The back wall will be the orange color, the rest the light blue, and the trim will be a putty color.