Design Study 2 -- Jesse Papineau

A map of the Philadelphia Airport.

Overview:
The Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is a well-populated area that thousands of people pass through daily. These people are of any age, race or economic background, and are coming and going to just about anywhere in the world. Because of this extreme diversity, I believe that each person that passes through every terminal has a unique, informative story to tell about their airport visit – be it their reason for travel, where they're going, or maybe just a memory of a vacation in Philadelphia (for a tourist). While waiting at the gate for their plane to take off, people will be able to pass the time by thinking about the “travel story” that they want to add to the collection. Not only will participants be able to add their story, but they will also be able to listen, read or look at the stories that others before them have left.

Communications Method:
PHL has six terminals (A – F), so for this locative narrative, I will use three forms of communication. In terminals A and D, phones (or a number for people to call on their cell phone) will be available so that a person can call and leave their story in a voicemail, or call a separate number to hear the stories others have left before them. Participants will be encouraged to tell a story about a place in the world, either their destination or where they came from. In terminals B and E, a classic communication method will be utilized – pen and paper – so that participants can simply write down their name. In terminals C and F, a pencil and paper will be provided, however it will be for drawing – participants will be asked to draw a picture of the route they took to get to the airport.

Instructions:
At each gate in terminal A and D, a phone with a blue stripe on it (and signs with that same stripe that has the phone number on it) will be displayed for participants to call and tell a story about any place of their choosing, as long as it is either where they are departing to or coming from. For participants who are walking through the entire airport, they will discuss where they came from at terminal A and where they are going at terminal D. Participants will include anybody/everybody in the airport, and I'm sure many will be resistant at first, however as they start to listen to the stories others have left the many days before them, the more likely they'll be to add their own story. At terminals B and E, small pieces of paper will be left so that participants can simply write their name down, and then pin it to a large map of the world (where they are going) showing the extreme diversity of the travelers' destinations. At terminals C and F, participants will be asked to draw their own map of the route they traveled – then the pictures will be displayed. The outcome of the map is entirely up to the participant, it could result in a simple map of the train that they took to the airport, or could be a weaving, winding road driven from a far distance away. (At each terminal there will be the phone number listed so all can listen to stories left. Also, if one plans to walk through all terminals, they need to only go to terminals A – D.)

Narrative:
All who pass through any airport have at least one story to tell – where they came from and where they are going. While these might not be the most interesting of all stories, narratives can easily be born out of this basic information. Also, the idea of placing your name where you are going on a map gives personal significance to one's individual 'corner of the world.' To give more importance to 'place,' the final stage asks participants to draw a map of how they got to the airport, and once these incredibly detailed or overly simple pictures are displayed, a sense of commonality will be felt in all at the terminal.


Assessment:
The idea of this project is to evoke a sense of pride in either where you came from, or where you are going. This isn't necessarily pride in your home, however I'm sure that for many in the airport, their destination is their home. It's a given that any random person in an airport can come from any number of backgrounds, so this locative narrative helps to get these people to tell their story in one of the most diverse places of all. The simplicity of asking questions like “where are you going?” and “where did you come from?” help make this narrative accessible to people from all walks of life.