INTRO
We are a team of five Oklahoma State University students working on our Sustainable Design minor capstone. We have decided to study the section of the Boomer Lake running trail that runs behind the Stillwater High School and the Cimarron Plaza. This part of the trail has the potential to become a safe and usable area for Stillwater residents with the help of a cleanup effort and beautification. The goal of our project is to propose updates to the area to promote use and functionality. This area can provide many wellness opportunities for the community, such as access to nature, an intergenerational community gathering space, a physical activity area void of cars, and an area for the improvement of physical and mental health. In the article Understanding and Designing the Human-Nature Connection, the research shows that projects like ours are only truly successful when they find the community support and involvement on a personal level. We have structured our project around interviewing people in the community by personally engaging with each on a level that allows these members of the community to be heard and have their needs met in our design.
THE PROJECT
We chose the site of the running trail because we are all interested in city beautification that improves the function and use of spaces. We strive to understand the problems with the current design, determine the areas to focus on for development, and develop valuable contacts to start the improvement process. First, we assessed the site through walk-throughs and general site visits, taking photographs and videos. After gathering information about the site, we interviewed stakeholders that routinely use or are affected by this area. Each team member then researched a member in the community that could benefit from the trail and the design needs for that group. The evidence-based design will propose a budget friendly solution for the trail based on research and interviews. The team then came together and determined the best way to incorporate all the user's needs and desires into a single, cohesive design that will improve and benefit the community. Sketching and 3D rendering tools will showcase the final suggested design, as well as this website to use as a platform for our designs.
IN CONCLUSION
The goal of this project is to raise awareness of the issues in the area. Through our skillset and passion for this community, we aim to spend this semester listening to community needs, designing improvements based on those needs, and leaving a website with detailed information of our data and designs so that this project will not be finished when our time here at OSU comes to an end. Rather, we hope to inspire the citizens of Stillwater to come together as an intergenerational whole to make their city better for future generations. We hope that this project will evolve into a real venture that will start a chain reaction for the future improvement and beautification of Stillwater by integrating well-being, physical health, and access to nature into a common gathering place for the community.
TEAM
Who We Are
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RYLIE DAVIDSON
I am interested in sustainability because our industry has such a negative affect on the environment, but the choices we make can make a huge difference. I'm interested in this project because Stillwater is the home for a variety of people from all different background. I want to do my part in leaving this city better than I found it so that it can have a positive influence on those who make Stillwater their home in the future.
JORDYN KARST
I feel it is our goal, as interior design students, to create unity between the built environment and the natural environment. Through the planning of materials and the practices we enforce, we can make that positive change. I am passionate about this project because this is an area of Stillwater that has so much potential with some planning. Our goal is to promote the trail and to encourage the people of Stillwater to get outside and use the space.
BRIANNE PEGORARO
I am passionate about material culture and sustainability in the built environment as they pertain to the natural world and its effects on human behavior and environmental ethics and aesthetics. Health is about so much more than physical fitness, dietary habits, or disease prevention. It's about how a person functions at all levels—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. It's about the brain’s and body’s response to the physical environment, and how that response influences a person’s quality of life. The Kameoka trail project is focused on making people’s lives better—holistically—by designing a place that promotes well-being from the inside out.
JAMIE SLOTHOWER
I’m interested in sustainability because I care about my impact and my industry’s impact on the earth. Our built environment should work cohesively with our natural environment, and when it doesn’t it creates a disconnect. Part of our job as designers is to bridge that gap and heal the relationship between the two. This project is special to me because it creates an opportunity to bring community outdoors and build spaces beyond walls, the first steps in bridging those two worlds together.
JULIANNA VINCENT
As an interior design student, I am interested in sustainability as it pertains to the built environment. I want to design spaces that are as beautiful as they are functional and to design intentionally with sustainable materials and practices.
I am interested in the Kameoka trail project because it is a wonderful trail system that is underutilized and overlooked. This is an exciting opportunity to help our community and to use our knowledge of sustainability on a real-life problem.