Talking Stick - November/December 2016 - 41

socializing, says Joellen Tipton,
Director of Residence Life and LivingLearning Programs . . . In 2011, Lone
Star Hall used a more open corner
lounge design, but again, they were
underutilized." The statistics backed
those feelings. As TreanorHL reports,
"Researchers first conducted baseline
surveys, in which 74% of residents
said they rarely, if ever, used the floor
lounges for study. Just over half said
they ever socialized there. Interviews
with resident assistants and extensive
first-hand observation confirmed
that few students spent time there.
Using primary survey and interview
data and extensive secondary design
research, the research team developed
theories and a set of controlled design
experiments that could be practically
enacted in student residential design."
As TreanorHL researcher Sharmin
Kader explains in the newsletter,

"We developed specific design
interventions by adapting the concepts
of 'third places' to a residence hall
environment and today's technology
tools."

privacy curtain to balance privacy
with accessibility, one added new
furniture and one added both privacy
and furniture." Five weeks later, the
research team gathered data from
surveys and interviews, as well as from
their own observation, and found that
"the altered lounges were occupied
on every visit. Those whose lounges
had changed reported increased
satisfaction, while satisfaction dropped
among those whose lounges had not
changed."

For the research, changes in
design were made in all but one of
the building's floor lounges. All the
changes took place over spring break,
and students living in halls with the
modified lounges were encouraged
to provide feedback after visiting
the new spaces. As the newsletter
describes, the changes incorporated
many different features. "One got a
makeover as a 'living room' with a
television, soft, flexible furniture and
an updated modern look. Another
used a café concept, with a variety
of adaptable furnishings. Three
remaining lounges kept the existing
collaboration function and layout,
but one added a semi-transparent

Not surprisingly, one of the
initial discoveries was the need to
balance privacy with connectivity.
TreanorHL describes a Sam Houston
hall where the "enclosed alcoves
and open lounges weren't being
used, but adding a privacy curtain
improved student use and satisfaction
significantly. The semi-transparent
white curtain created a partition wall

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Talking Stick - November/December 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - November/December 2016
