Hasta La Ideas

Reporting by Colin Murphy

The Massachusetts College of Art and Design and Wentworth Institute of Technology have something no other schools have: two different Industrial Design programs literally across the street from each other. This proximity inspired a unique design competition that would showcase each school’s respective talents. 16 Hours to Glory was a design challenge issued to the students of the schools by a panel of outside judges made up of local professionals. Matt Blunt and Mike McDuffee of 11, Dave Fustino of Bose, Michael Miller of Radius and Evan Hutker of The First Years collaborated to create a brief that would both inspire the students and be feasible in a 16 hour timeframe. Hence, “Room to Improve.”

The brief was framed around Boston’s well known history of being a college town. One thing that all college students have in common is the experience—both good and bad—of living in a dorm room. The brief:

And as college students, one of the things you all have in common is that you’ve lived in a dorm at one point or another. You know what it’s like to share your space with someone you may or may not like. You know the space limitations, the frustrations revolving around storage and food preparation.

You also know that dorm rooms can be fun places, a tiny party in a box. Dorm rooms are your living rooms, your bedrooms, your studios, your kitchens, and where you entertain ourselves.

The challenge you are issued today is based around a ‘standard’ dorm room. It could be on any college campus in city. What you have been tasked with is making the experience of living in a dorm room better.

More than 35 students from three schools rose to the challenge, spending the entire day Saturday working in small teams researching, brainstorming, designing and finalizing their solution. The music was blaring, the pens were flying, the paper piling deep. Many of the teams ventured out to their respective campuses to conduct in-person interviews or ask students about their dorm room experience. As the hours wore on, the 14 teams buckled down to finish by midnight—a tight deadline, but everyone made it!

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