Collaborative design project of public spaces throughout learning-service and design thinking

Abstract

Teachers and students from the Superior Center of Fashion Design [Centro Superior de Diseno de Moda of Madrid (CSDMM)] spend much of their time at university, referring not only to the one spent in the center, but also to the hours a day commuting. The travel time between the subway gate and the university entrance can be long and weary at times, especially when the route and its conditions do not favor a friendly, welcoming and functional environment. This is the case of Campus Sur, where the journey between the means of transport and the university does not satisfy any of the aforementioned characteristics.

Students have faced this problem for years. This is why this educational innovation project has been proposed to create a pleasant atmosphere that accompanies them every day on their way to class. Professors and students can collaborate to map out a visual design on a 450-meters-long wall to give a service to the community. Thanks to this project, students can improve their learning by focusing on the immediate social environment. They can include the dynamics of learning-service, as a complementary educational strategy mixed with Design Thinking. To involve the UPM community, two schools have joined in this project. The Technical School of Engineering and Industrial Design [Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieria de Diseno Industrial (ETSIDI)] can provide aesthetics and solve technical problem. The CSDMM can explain and take part by providing their personal experience, as they are directly involved. This entire project will be carried out jointly between both schools. The idea is to continue developing an earlier project in which the university's learning spaces were improved through Design Thinking. In this case, that improvement has been applied to public spaces based not only on Design Thinking, but also on Service Learning

The following paper will show the creation process followed by the students from both schools throughout the whole project, as well as some of the best wall proposals.