A small translucent curtain provides a modicum of privacy. A modular pillow can be stood up so you can sit up in the space or turned on its side for sleeping. Interior lights provide illumination in case students simply want to kick back and read. The pods are crafted out of wood and feature a vinyl-upholstered sleep area that can be easily wiped down between uses. These were designed by UCLA lecturer Marta Nowak, a founder of the design studio AN.ONYMOUS, in collaboration with the cityLAB team, which also included cityLAB associate director Rayne Laborde and assistant director Gus Wendel, both of whom worked on some of the early research on student commuting. Its most iconic elements are the jelly-bean-shaped sleeper pods, painted in bright, sherbet-y colors. But it was the team at cityLAB that worked with commuting students to produce a design that was more appealing than, as Cuff says, “Ikea cots in a closet.” ![]() The project is a collaboration between cityLAB and numerous UCLA departments, including UCLA Recreation, UCLA Student Affairs and the student organization Bruin Commuters. “This is a prototype, not a solution,” says Cuff. The space is small - containing just five sleeping pods and a small lounge and desk area - but it provides a place to test out designs and receive student feedback. For students who, for economic or personal reasons, cannot live on campus or just off of it (Westwood is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Los Angeles), BruinHub can provide a safe and comfortable anchor space. Located inside what was once a racquetball court in the John Wooden Center, the campus recreation building, the hub has good proximity to showers as well.ĭana Cuff, who serves as director of cityLAB, which was instrumental in conducting research on student commutes and designing the spaces, says BruinHub adds to the “continuum of accommodation” that the university can provide. These can be reserved at no charge for two-hour stretches and even overnight. It not only provides commuting students a dedicated space to store food and hang out, but it also provides futuristic-looking, jelly-bean-shaped pods for naps. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.Īnd late last month, UCLA unveiled a new commuter space called BruinHub. ![]() ![]() For some students, that entailed sleeping in their cars. In addition, a 2019 survey titled “My Commute Is Hell” by the university’s urbanism think tank cityLAB found that 43% of commuting students had one-way commutes of 60 minutes or more, and of those students, 42% had slept overnight on or near campus rather than endure the long ride back home late at night. And in Southern California, those commutes can be very long.Īt UCLA, for example, more than half of the undergraduate student body commutes from off-campus. But the reality for countless students on university campuses is that they commute. In fact, dorm life and university life are often conflated as one. The platonic ideal of university campus design generally includes classroom buildings, an auditorium, a green space, some sort of bell tower and plenty of dorms. Miranda, arts and urban design columnist at the Los Angeles Times, with your weekly essential arts newsletter. It’s been a week, and I may need to soothe my soul with a massive homemade grape Pop-Tart.
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