CHE Students Transform Mann with Sod and Umbrellas
As the days get shorter and colder in Ithaca, new exhibits by College of Human Ecology students have transformed Mann’s lobby and 2nd floor gallery into vivid, colorful and inviting places.
Students in Sheila Danko’s DEA 1110: Making a Difference by Design class, armed with a few dozen inexpensive umbrellas, attempted to answer some very big design questions. Why, for example, does one environment draw us to it, while another repels? Why do we perceive some environments as more comfortable, more desirable, more emotionally engaging than others? How, in short, can generic space be transformed into meaningful place? Their answers to these questions are are surprising, thought-provoking and beautiful and literally fill the gallery in an exhibit that runs through December 3rd, select views of which are also available online. You’ll never think of Mary Poppins quite the same way again.
Gilad Meron (DEA, Class of 2012) wanted an exhibit that would put his viewers in touch with the the research, teaching and extension community in the College of Human Ecology. Literally in touch; when his exhibit opened in the Mann Lobby on October 20th, it included a vibrantly green corner—replete with comfortable seating, special lighting, reading materials, and yes, real grass—that invited visitors to come on in and feel the difference that real life elements of nature can make in the experience of everyday spaces and everyday activities. Hugely popular almost from the minute Gilad laid the first sod tiles on the lobby floor, the grassy corner clearly proved effective in conveying through “show instead of tell” some of the important recent findings made by researchers in the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis: Nature is indeed powerful when it comes to informing indoor as well as outdoor spaces that humans find positive, nurturing and richly inviting.
While the grass corner was necessarily only a temporary component of Gilad’s exhibit (nature may be powerful, but growing grass under heavy foot traffic indoors is a feat still yet to be mastered by mere mortals!), the rest of the "Chronicles of Human Ecology" installation, showcasing and celebrating the tradition of innovation throughout the past century of work in the College, will be on display in the Mann Lobby through February 2012. More details are available in a recent Cornell Chronicle article and a slideshow of select installation highlights.
Editor's note: By popular demand, the grass area in the Mann Lobby is back--just in time for some serious stress busting activity during exam week! Thanks to a generous new donation of turf grass by Batavia Turf in Rochester, NY and the creative energy of exhibit intern Gilad Meron '12, once again, students are availing themselves of a refreshingly green corner in the Mann Lobby for study, snacking, and socializing. Also planned for the space week of December 5: Picnic snack break hosted by Mann Library, Monday Dec. 5 and Wednesday Dec. 7 (5:30 pm until gone), and pizza break hosted by the CALS Alumni Association, Tuesday, Dec. 6 (4:00 until gone). Ag Quad community warmly invited--especially of course our hard-studying students!
