The Tactics of Dormitories

    One of my fondest memories from undergrad was getting to see all of my colleagues' dormitories and how they had arranged them in their own unique way.  It was evident how stagnant the architecture of these rooms were: 10x10' square boxes comprised of white walls, white ceilings, white tile floors, and a single window looking out into a parking lot. All the amenities were the same: bed, dresser, and a desk with a chair (most likely missing a leg). Despite these copy-machine living quarters, all of my colleagues managed to find creative ways to adapt to their environment.

    Interestingly, many of them followed the same tactics of living, but with different execution. Clothes, for instance, would be dispersed in a very particular fashion; some people had them on top of their chair, while others had them on top of their dresser. Textbooks were also unique, in that they told a story on what the individual had been up to. If books were by the bed, clearly a lot of reading had been going on that week; if books were hidden under the desk, someone was saving them for a rainy day.

    As fascinating as this all was, it worried me how unempathetic these dorms truly were. There was an absolute focus on form and order without taking into consideration the everyday needs of the students. When it came to things such as organizing clothes or having a place to store books, there was no means of doing so without a sudden attempt of seizing opportunity. Margaret Crawford describes this dilemma in her article Everyday Urbanism in which urban architecture tends to prioritize strategies, or practices that establish institutional places which emphasize space over time. Her perspective on urbanism is that its design should revolve around the tactics of its people, specifically the repetitive ways of operating without a proper place.

    There is something magical about dormitories, in that they are nothing but untapped potential for great living quarters. If urban architects simply changed their perspective on how these spaces should be arranged, maybe one day students will no longer have to stack their clothes on top of their chair.