Monday, November 10, 2008

The Third Place

1. According to Ray Oldenburg, a "Third Place" is somewhere aside from home of work, where a person can go to relax and socialize. The whole purpose of a third place is to build a sense of community. it is an intimate, comforable place where regulats can go to decompress, relax, and forget about problems that may carry over from the home or workplace. The main activity of a third place is conversation and to enjoy the company of one another.

2. Design elements contributing to third places rely on a special type of visceral design. The place must be homey and intimate, not filled with bright, stark colors. Most third places, such as pubs, are painted and colored with browns and other neutral colors and shades. It must incorporate comfortable seating in order to keep customers coming back. The most important aspect of a third place is comfort, and the designer must strive to make the space inviting and welcoming in order to gain more customers to build up the community. Exclusivity cannot be allowed in any aspect of a third place, including seating, location, and accessability.

3. I think that Trowbridge's lounges could be made more useful. The lounge on the first floor usually has a steady amount of traffic in it, and sometimes the basement lounge has people, but for the most part I only see a few students, if any, at a given time. The second and third floor lounges hardly ever have people in them, from what I notice. In order to make them more successful third places, different events should be held in them, and the seating should be made more comfortable. The couches and chairs aren't comfortable at all, and the drab colors make them less inviting. Appearance is where the first floor lounge excels, since it has large windows that allow natural light to shine in.

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