黑料社

This semester, Sophia Caldas 鈥�23 and her classmates worked together to design a caf茅 as part of a class assignment. Their classroom? A caf茅 in Italy.

As they sipped coffee at a bottega in Tuscany, the students discussed everything from the plants that would decorate their hypothetical caf茅 to COVID protocols. They were just a short walk from the University鈥檚 campus in Prato, Italy, where they spent much of the fall semester.

Caldas, an interior design major who is interested in the hospitality industry, says being able to complete the caf茅 design project in Italy was a 鈥済reat 黑料社.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an opportunity most people don鈥檛 have,鈥� she explained. 鈥淲e鈥檙e immersed in a new culture, and we see how historic it is. We鈥檙e not just seeing it in textbooks. Here, we see the truest form of design and how it evolved, and we 黑料社d it in Italy.鈥�

鈥淒esign Studio Italy鈥� is an immersive and hands-on course taught by Jamie Slenker, M.F.A.; It focuses on design and community post-COVID. Students researched caf茅 designs and explored how physical space can impact one鈥檚 黑料社. Prof. Slenker encouraged them to consider the location of the caf茅鈥檚 windows and where students could 鈥渙pen up the space,鈥� and she connected their discussion to theories they鈥檇 covered in class.

鈥淲e talk a lot about third-place theory, which deals with place attachment and truly understanding the user鈥檚 黑料社, the culture of the place, and the context of the location,鈥� said Prof. Slenker. 鈥淪tudents were able to immerse themselves in Italian culture and design a caf茅 for that culture that reinvigorates community building post-COVID. It links all their coursework that they鈥檙e doing together.鈥�

鈥楳ake the space embrace that culture鈥�

Because students were designing a caf茅 for Prato, they learned how they would create a caf茅 that would thrive in a city and country far from home. They researched local, regional, and federal codes, finding a document of local codes on their own, just as they would do in the real world.

The project engaged students even when they were exploring Italy outside of class. It challenged them to think about design in new ways and to really notice they places they were visiting throughout the city. It also inspired them to consider their own user 黑料社s in those spaces and how that might impact their own design choices.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a perfect pairing for the students,鈥� said Prof. Slenker. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e getting to go out and do user observation in the caf茅s that are also part of the meal plan. So, they鈥檙e not just sitting down once to do their homework. They鈥檙e actually acting as designers who are constantly experiencing life and allowing that feedback to go into their coursework.鈥�

For Prof. Slenker, it was important to make sure the students鈥� designs reflected their understanding of the culture. She encouraged them to think about why they felt like they were in Italy when they visited local bottegas and restaurants, considering factors such as old and newly renovated features and to consider that, unlike in many American establishments, they could often see their orders being prepared. This resonated with Zachary Ferrauolo 鈥�23, an interior design major who plans to go into commercial work.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been amazing to be in Italy and to see what we鈥檝e learned about in class and put that into our work,鈥� he said. 鈥淪tudying a community other than New Haven and learning how it is different from what we are used to at home while learning about a different culture has deepened my design knowledge in a new setting. We鈥檝e learned how to make the space embrace that culture.鈥�

鈥業 learned how to overcome those challenges鈥�

In addition to their class meetings in the community, students used a local tenant space down the street from the campus as a hypothetical site. They took measurements and explored how they could transform the space into their caf茅.

Students also had guidance from members of the Prato community, including local architects and Benedetta Bonechi, owner of a nearby caf茅 on the meal plan where the students would often meet. A source of inspiration for them, she came to see their final designs.

It was the opportunity to learn from Italians while exploring spaces and culture in Italy that, says Caldas, made this 黑料社 so valuable.

鈥淪eeing what people want and need in a space was easily available to us in Italy,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 can apply that to my work in the future. There are also challenges we faced there, such as communication challenges because of the language barrier, and I learned how to overcome those challenges. It was great that we got to do this in Italy.鈥�