Jonathan Harris is an associate professor for Johnson & Wales University’s College of Engineering & Design. Harris is part of the winning team of the Crook Point Bascule Bridge redesign project held by the city of Providence.
Harris spoke to Providence Business News about the project, its future and how the design industry is adapting in Rhode Island.
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PBN: What was the inspiration behind your redesign of the Crook Point Bridge?
HARRIS: The Crook Point Bridge Project is an affordable plan that focuses on the user, providing places for contact in a sustainable environment. The safety issues associated with access to the raised bascule were among our primary concerns. The inspiration for separating the deck from the bascule came during a collaboration between Johnson & Wales University and the Providence Planning Department where JWU student Sabrina Alpino proposed this solution to retain the iconic structure while limiting access.
The inspiration for the lighting was initiated by my teammate Ellen Biegert. My other teammate Jonathan Ford and I then joined in the conversation and explored other possibilities. Together, we sought methods that would allow visitors to affect the beacon in real time. We decided to embed “railroad ties” into the deck that when stepped or rolled upon will alter the bridge lighting, allowing users of all ages and abilities the possibility to interact.
While I am disheartened by the recent fire that might have compromised the bascule, designers are known for their ability to pivot and reimagine spaces and structures. I look forward to the chance to work with the city and other stakeholders to make this a place all can enjoy.
PBN: With the fire of the bridge that recently took place, are you worried that the bridge will be torn down and your design may not come to fruition? And, will you make efforts to convince the R.I. Department of Transportation to keep the bridge up?
HARRIS: There was never a guarantee that the bridge was structurally sound or that the concept would ever be implemented. We presented our concept with the assumption that the bridge would indeed stand but knew that there is a possibility that it might not remain in place. This doesn’t change that position.
In fact, now that the bridge will be structurally assessed, it will confirm or deny our concept. If the bascule cannot remain in place, we will seek alternatives, assuming we continue to have the opportunity to work on the project. Design is ever adapting.
PBN: How is the design industry adapting across Rhode Island?
HARRIS: Design is adaptation. The process of design is a great tool for understanding a problem or issue from the standpoint of the user. There was a time that design was considered the packaging for a product, the shell that allowed one access to the features within. While it is true that we still create the objects, modern design considerations include user-experience, human factors, and cultural, ecological and ethical practices.
Design is creating new opportunities in the realm of the Internet of Things, connecting systems, products and services to users. These are the new products that can be completely digital, like Airbnb or an app, or can include some physical object, like a Fitbit. Concepts today must consider these relationships between the object or service and its connection to other products or services. It is systemic design – we are within a system, and we are affecting the system.
The biggest challenge we have now is how to bring these manufactured systems into alignment with the Earth’s systems. When considering design today, one must consider the full life cycle of the product. Designing for disposal is no longer an option and sustainability is a core ethical absolute.
PBN: How is human activity influencing design changes being seen as of late?
HARRIS: Good design starts with the user as the framework for decision-making, and a good design process can lead to innovative new solutions. These new solutions, when applied, will influence new behaviors. This process is cyclical, always creating and influencing.
Consider the JWU student-designed benches on Wickenden Street. They were designed to protect the trees, provide the possibility of conversation, and places for resting and waiting. Once installed, the public adapted. The benches are now incorporated into outdoor restaurant spaces, adopted and painted by a local merchant, and enjoyed by pedestrians. It has changed the expectations and behavior on the street, and we use the space differently.
This is an unseen power of design, and yet such a powerful tool for change. This power granted to designers cannot be taken lightly. In JWU’s Integrated Product Design program, we are teaching our students to take responsibility through the projects they choose, the solutions they propose and the life they lead, all of which are connected.
PBN: Has COVID-19 impacted the design industry? If so, how will the industry move forward beyond the pandemic?
HARRIS: Some of the changes during pandemic have been useful. Early on, the design community was quick to identify solutions to the lack of personal protective equipment and ventilators, whose designs were open sourced and offered free to the world. Some of this was done by individuals, and some were accomplished through teams that fulfilled the “promise” of the virtual office by using videoconferencing to design collaboratively around the world.
But we have seen how tenuous some of these connections have been. Our desire for low-cost goods has sent much of the manufacturing abroad, leaving us vulnerable to the types of systemic breakdown that continues to this day. I anticipate many of the design firms will be tasked with modifying designs to reduce the impact of supply chain collapse.
I am excited for the advances in transportation design in Providence. The early months of the pandemic saw a surge in bicycle riding around the world, putting a severe strain on bicycle supplies that has still not recovered. These new cyclists, with the borrowed time from lacking commutes, took to the empty streets. The city responded with the quick implementation of a planned bicycle network.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
