Design for America (DFA) is a national student organization which aims to create the next generation of social innovators by encouraging students to use the 6 step DFA design process to address social needs within local communities. The start of Fall 2017 semester marked the first project sprint for the Design for America - University of Michigan Studio.
Community Partner
Avalon Housing
Role
Studio Co-lead
Timeline
~8 months
Identify
A 2015 report shows 387 people were found experiencing homelessness in Washtenaw County on Jan. 28, 2015, down 52 percent from 2013.
Of those, 307 were in shelters or transitional housing (down 11 percent) and 80 were on the streets or in places not meant for human habitation (down 52 percent).
Avalon Housing is a non-profit organization in Washtenaw County, MI that seeks to provide support, resources, and permanent housing opportunities to those who suffer from chronic homelessness. They own multiple communities within the county and our studio sought to work at one specific property, 411 Ashley. At 411 Ashley, we interviewed staff members to establish an understanding of the organization's role in the community and how we can play a role in addressing a social need in hand with them.
Avalon presented the following problem space in their Ashley House Property:
"Develop furniture that is easier used and/or more accessible to elder/medically declining adults.”
Immerse
In order to better understand the experience of the 411 Ashley residents, a visitation was scheduled to not only view the physical space but to also interview the current residents.The interview questions were centered around the current state of furniture, resident's experiences with them, but specifically within the common areas.
After the visit, affinity mapping was used to find common themes about the space of 411 Ashley and empathy mapping was used to better understand the perspective of the residents and to then develop our personas.
Reframe
From gathering all of this information from the staff and community members, we learned some important points and themes from our affinity map and empathy map that helped us develop our How Can We.Residents fall in the living room due to lack of support in the furniture.
Furniture receievd by the property are based on donations.
- A lot fo the furniture is old and lacks support.
- Older residents have difficulty getting in and out of furniture.
- Spills/bodily fluids are difficult to clean and affect the sanitation of common areas.
- Common areas are normally not utilized by all residents.
- For any incidents, staff must always tend to the resident first.
"
How can we temporarily transform existing Avalon furniture to increase functionality and durability?"
Ideate
Couch Cover: Waterproof, refillable couch cover that adds needed extra cushion and supports to sagging couches.
Design Goals
Measures of Successes
Short
- Avalon staff can easily install product and fits snug/correctly
- Residents willingly keep couch cover on for two weeks
Medium
- Staff successfully cleans up 100% of spills without damage to couch and clean time is reduced by 50%
- 100% increase in resident use of couch/common space increase from 3 to 6 residents
Long
- Couch life is extended for year and health of residents maintained
- Couch cover utilized in 20% or more of Avalon properties
Validation
Design Requirements
Must Have
- Be waterproof/wipeable
- Be operable by one person
- NOT hook under the couch
- Height of standard walker
Should Have
- Take 10 - 20 minutes to install
- Shouldn't have to lift the couch to operate
- Have an angle on/in the back support
Could Have
- 45 minutes - fluid should NOT seep in
Build & Test
The main goal of this build was to get the measurements for standardization correct. The materials used were more inexpensive but met the design requirements that were initially laid out since there was a team budget. The couch cover from this build would be the first that we would test at Avalon with the staff and residents.
The second build was the final product that was left at the Avalon property. The feedback (as seen below) was used for this along with better materials to meet our requirements and problems found within the first test. At the completion of this build, the couch cover was left at the 411 Ashley House property.
