Student Design Challenge
Semi Finalist #2

Valeriya Laskova
School: Humber College
Category: Amazing Amenity Spaces

Fair Play: Women-Centered Design for Amazing Amenity Spaces at Reina Condominiums

Background

When I learned about the Reina condominium design challenge and found out that it is being designed by an all-female team with the family-oriented goals, the project resonated with me immediately. I would love to design a space that focuses on meeting the needs of women, especially those of women with children, as these needs are often overlooked. I recently read a book by Caroline Criado-Perez titled “Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men”. The book is about the gender data gap in design and how this gap adversely affects women in many aspects of our lives. There is a “default male” mentality when it comes to all areas of design, policy making, urban planning and even drug development. This term refers to common practice of using data that is produced mostly through research on male subjects and then extrapolating it to females with an assumption that the findings would automatically apply to women. In reality, they often do not. This is the reason why women are 73% more likely to suffer significant or fatal injuries in car accidents than men (Samarrai, 2019). The crash tests during the car design process have been historically done with dummies modeled after men. Male bodies differ from those of females in height, weight, shape, body mass distribution, bone and muscle strength, etc., and the data obtained in these crash tests simply does not represent women very well. The seat belts we have now may be perfectly suited for the male torso, but what about the half of the population that owns breasts? How many crash tests have been done with dummies that represent a pregnant female? None. Car accidents are a major risk factor for pregnancy loss due to trauma (Murphy, 2014) and it’s baffling that no research is being done to help improve the safety of the vehicles for pregnant women, and women in general.

Aside from the obvious physical differences between men and women that need to be accounted for in design for safety purposes, women differ from men in other aspects. We lead different lifestyles due to the gender roles that are still very prevalent in our society. Despite some tendency for positive change, women are still more involved in the household work, childcare responsibilities, taking care of older or sick relatives, and as such, our daily lives differ from those of men. For example, the commute pattern of a typical male usually includes going directly to work and then back home, while women are more likely to make multiple stops to run errands, pick up kids, check on family, etc. (Criado Perez, 2019). As such, we are often forced to multitask more than men, and the spaces that we design need to accommodate these lifestyle patterns. As a young mother, I have been often struggling trying to balance my parenting responsibilities with work and now school, and social life. Most public places are not very child-friendly, which limits the use of these various facilities by mothers. Nursing a baby in a public space is many mothers’ worst nightmare. The tiny nursing rooms tucked away in the public washrooms with smelly diapers in the corner are not the most pleasant places to feed a baby, not to mention the complications of such an endeavor if you have an older child with you, who needs to be entertained during this time. Going out for a coffee with a friend when you have a little one tagging along is often a challenge, since most cafes do not have any kind of entertainment for small kids, and there is only so much screen time a conscious parent can comfortably allow their child to have. We need spaces that meet these needs to improve the quality of life for parents, and especially mothers, since they are the ones still doing most of the childcare work.

Design rationale and inspiration

The condominium amenity spaces that I propose in my design attempt to alleviate some of the stresses of daily life of a busy family with small children. These amenities are by no means exclusively designed for women. They are inclusive of men and are available for use for all ages, however I made a conscious attempt to make them suitable for families and sensitive to the very specific needs women may have, as these are often overlooked in the space planning of many public places.

I drew my inspiration for this design from an ant hill. Ants are social animals that live in colonies with highly organized structures. Below the ant hill there are numerous chambers with specialized functions, such as food storage, with the nest buried deep in the middle of the colony. The eggs are laid and the young hatch in the nest, where they are best protected from invaders. I found the structure and the function of the ant colony a great source of inspiration for this project. Similarly to an ant hill and its chambers, my design incorporates curves and an asymmetrical layout with many flowing, organic lines. Its ceiling resembles the ant hill itself, with the middle area being higher than the perimeter and flowing, curved and asymmetrical surfaces covering the entire space (see sections for detail). The result is a space that has a very dynamic feel, reflective of the busy lifestyle of most modern families.

Description of spaces

The design I propose aims to unite the condominium residents into one community, where many essential daily needs can be met on site. Similarly to the ant colony, which recognizes the need to nurture and protect their young as one of the most important, my design has a large playground with multiple activities for kids in the middle of the open space. The playground is in direct proximity to all of the other spaces and is visible from every corner, so that the parents can always keep an eye on their kids, while attending to their own needs.

There is a convenience store with essentials, such as toiletries, baby care products and some basic food items, so that getting milk is no longer an hour-long experience of driving to a grocery store with an impatient toddler in your hands.

Right beside the playground there is an open area with several types of seating for quick social meetings. Parents can enjoy their coffee and chat, while their kids are playing within the arm’s reach. In this social zone, there is a small kitchenette with a coffee machine, a microwave to heat up food and a small fridge for storage of any left-over food or milk while you are on the premises. For nursing mothers, or anyone wishing a bit of a private time, there is a small area with a folding privacy screen and a TV, where one could retreat to feed a baby, watch news or read quietly, while still being very close to the playground where older children may play.

For busy individuals who often struggle to find time to get that haircut or their nails done, there is a small nail and hair salon. All of the spaces that are enclosed for security purposes or for noise reduction, have glass walls so that one could still easily look out to make sure their kids are safe and having fun. For those parents who need some time to themselves and require someone to look after their young kids, there is a drop-in daycare centre with a responsible adult who can take care of the little ones while their parents are busy.

The amenities will include a gym with some basic equipment, such as treadmills and weights, as well as a rock-climbing wall. Rock climbing is a very fun sport that not only is a great exercise, but is a wonderful opportunity for social connections. Every climber needs someone to belay them, and climbing gyms are often attended by groups of individuals for a social experience, where the participants encourage each other and solve climbing challenges together. It is a great opportunity for families of all ages to connect, while taking care of their physical health.

For more specialized fitness activities, there is a studio with a ballet bar and a generous open space for dance, yoga, Zumba, or any kind of group fitness activities. There is an operable partition that separates this area from a large multifunction space. This space can function as a party room that would need to be booked ahead of time for organized events, and the partition can be opened to enlarge this room so that the dance studio can extend as a dance floor during parties. There are multiple types of seating – a cozy lounge space by the fireplace, as well as some tables and chairs that can be used for meals or workshops and even small business meetings. There is a kitchenette with a bar for night time group entertainment events. Since this room is available for private functions, the users may want some privacy from the rest of the facility. The glass walls are designed of polarized glass

Conclusion

The design solution for Reina amenities that I propose attempts to unite the residents into a community that caters to their diverse daily needs in order to alleviate some of the stresses of their busy lives. The focus of this design is on the needs of families with children, and especially the needs of women that are often ignored in the design process, to help them achieve the work-family-life balance that is often such a challenge in a modern world.

References:

Criado-Perez, C. (2019). Invisible women: Data bias in a world designed for men. New York: Abrams Press.
Murphy, N.J. (2014). Trauma in Pregnancy: Assessment, Management, and Prevention. Am Fam Physician. 2014 Nov 15;90(10):717-724
Samarrai, F. (2019). University of Virginia Today. Centre for Applied Biomechanics. Retrieved from: https://news.virginia.edu/content/study-new-cars-are-safer-women-most-likely-suffer-injury