Today I will tell the story of how bad design annoyed me throughout my MayX course. During MayX I lived NVA with my friend Matt and if you were't aware NVA has the smallest parking lot on all of campus (smaller than the trone zone).
Picture from Furman Parking Map
Well throughout my time living there, the parking was always so limited that I was forced to either park in the parking lot next door or in the worst cases in front of NVC. Seeing as parking is so scarce in this lot it straight up baffles me as to why anyone would do this:
This dumpster just has no awareness of the context in which it is being placed. The artifact is well designed but holistically its not being used to its full potential and I doubt there are any instructions for users to ensure that its used to its full potential.
deSIGNING off,
Ahmed Mustafa
I can totally agree with this. Having experience living in NVC all of last year, I can tell you that it was a hassle to walk to class everyday. I would have to leave twenty to twenty five minutes before class in order to be on time…without sweating. Passing by this scene at least twice a day, I noticed the same exact thing. Who would waste two parking spots with a dumpster that isn't even put to good use? I never actually had the feeling of looking around NVA for a parking spot and not being able to find one but I can feel your pain to a certain extent. We should think about getting a petition signed together. Let me know.
ReplyDeleteTell me about it! Some of the parking lots are hilariously small. I lived in NVG last year. It would constantly get filled up especially when you were out until midnight studying. What's worse is that people who didn't even live in G would park there! Why? I have no earthly idea! This would cause me to have two options. Either I parked at H or at D. Both of which were atrocious options. I agree that maybe they could have better planned the placement of the dumpster. However, I would argue that maybe it is placed there so that the garbage trucks have easy access to the dumpster and that they can use the mechanical arms to easily pick up the dumpster and dump the contents into the back of the truck. Maybe FUPO could make exceptions to the current parking situation, making it forbidden to park in the apartments with small parking lots unless you live there. i.e. A, G, maybe even K?
ReplyDeleteThat's super frustrating. I don't understand why there's such a disconnect between Furman and logical and accessible parking situations but it seems that this is a reoccurring theme during my time here. It almost seems fitting that they'd sit a giant dumpster between too spaces just to be difficult. But I digress. I think the real design flaw is that Furmdog went through the effort to build a nice little dumpster corral to keep our campus looking ~*beautiful*~ and then proceeded to place the exact object they took such care to hide right next to their creation. Step it up, Furmy.
ReplyDeleteAs a current resident of A, this is a daily struggle. One thing this post doesn't mention is that this isn't even a normal dumpster--it's for cardboard only. Meaning it's always empty and basically useless, since we have recycling bins a few feet away anyway. The only place we have to throw ACTUAL garbage is a giant, 7" high bucket dumpster (the kind they bring for move in and move out), which means whenever we want to take the trash out we have to swing it into the air and aim. It's ridiculous. It's also overflowing. I'm going to email my RA and see what Furman's explanation is.
ReplyDelete