Canopy – Restoring Campus Environments

The design space we are exploring focuses on elevating public spaces on college campuses and how environmental factors impact feelings of safety and discomfort. Canopy is a design installation that spans heavily trafficked areas on college campuses and creates soothing ripple-like movements that initiate once a person enters the space. Our project aims to create a more restorative campus environment that reduces mental stress and benefits emotional well-being. We achieved this by integrating nature-inspired movements and forms with robotics, creating an interactive experience that transforms unpleasant environments into more calming spaces. Testing user perceptions of Canopy from underneath versus. outside the installation revealed that the nature of movement has a strong influence on the feeling of calmness.