This project addresses design as a form of research and, conversely, it positions research as an approach to design. Providing people with tangible feedback on public dimensions of their behavior creates a framework for ongoing innovation. Providing such feedback in the context of a busy metropolitan railway station illustrates how system dynamics and processes of emergent behavior can be used to efficiently address complex problems by distributing the responsibility of design to those whose activity it directly impacts. Transitional spaces are inherently dynamic. When feedback is used to blur the distinction between research and design, important social dimensions of these spatial dynamics are brought into focus.

There are many ways to integrate research and design. This project has evolved over many months and it has taken various forms along the way (including that of a graduate design studio that I recently taught). The concept of participatory design has, however, persistently guided the project's evolution. People who use Penn Station have played an important role in shaping the project from the very beginning. In fact, the idea of providing location-oriented feedback sprung from research indicating that the primary source of frustration that people experience when using Penn Station is the congestion that develops in areas of the architectural space that are too compartmentalized to provide a perspective on the ever-changing ebbs and flows of foot traffic. This frustration was voiced again and again over the course of many interviews and it was observed on an ongoing basis throughout several months of ethnographic field work. It is clearly a problem that needs to be addressed. But participatory design is more than a means of defining problems. It is also a way of involving people in efforts to solve problems. People who use Penn Station — travelers and commuters alike — have been involved at every stage in the development of this project. The feedback that they have provided has guided each iteration of the design as it has evolved from a series of conceptual sketches to functional prototypes. People who use the station on a regular basis have even been asked to prepare story-boards, renderings, and other forms of documentation to ensure that their perspectives inform the design effort.

The development of this project is not yet complete. More research and design will be needed if it is to become a viable means of addressing the tangible problems that people face when traveling through Penn Station. But as should be clear by now, the goal of this project is not only to solve tangible problems. It is also to experiment with different approaches to the socio-technical processes of research and design. This being the case, it is extremely unlikely that the development of this project will ever be regarded as fully complete.