IDEC Exchange - Interior Design Educators Council

ServiceSERVICE ACTIVITIESIN INTERIOR DESIGNScott Williams, ServiceActivities EditorInterior DesignCollaborativeClockwise from top:image 1, image 2, image3. Image credit: DamonLacapra.Damon LaCapra, Robert Busch School of Design, KeanUniversityThe Interior Design Collaborative (IDC), is a programaffiliated with The Design Center at Kean Universityin Union, NJ in which students commit one academicyear to serve as design problem solvers. Addressingunderachieving spaces, the student volunteers create“wish list” programs, set goals, develop designs, and thenpresent their refurbishment concepts to their non-profitorganization “clients.”Created by Assistant Professor of Interior Design DamonLaCapra, (lacaprad@kean.edu), the IDC program “hasbeen a useful tool for the students to gain insight into themany facets of the interior design profession,” as well asperform a valuable service for the community. “This IDCexperience has been a great way for me to put to the testwhat I have learned throughout school”, exclaimed interiordesign student Megan DiBartolo.In 2007 – 08, the Clara Maass Continuing Care Facility inBelleville, New Jersey was the focus of an interdisciplinaryeffort of interior design and visual communicationstudents in the design of a new lobby with directionalsignage. The students’ concept introduced visual emphasis,color, and an accessible seating area for patients,friends, and family. (Image 1)In 2010 – 11, the Main Lobby Redesign Projectof the Plainfield WMCA in Plainfield, New Jerseywas a continuation of the IDC’s design work theprevious year. The YMCA lobby was a “hodge-podgeof pipes, signs, various materials, and security issues.”The IDC’s design students collected users’ requestsand developed a concept to accommodate theirneeds. Ravenell Williams, YMCA administrator, wasenthusiastic about the student work. “They producedgreat design boards and presented to our congregationwho got excited about the possibilities of the spacewe had stopped seeing because it was so familiar andworn.” (Images 2 and 3).30