Consider a digital wayfinding system for E14 or the E14/E15 complex. The system should address the needs of the many different users of the building - staff, researchers, students, guests. Think about how each constituency makes use of the space and how that influences your design. The system should do all of the things that any good system does: clarify the arrangement of spaces within the building and guide people to the places they want to go. In addition, you can think about new functions - locating friends, encouraging collaboration, connecting the real and the virtual, providing greater openness and transparency, etc. Your design should also speak to the kind of place that the Media Lab is (or wants to be).

You do not need to build this system, but it must be buildable. So, you can assume any technology that currently exists, or one which you can demonstrate is feasible. You may not bend the laws of space-time, use magic, or design something that would be prohibitively expensive in time or materials.

Since this is a two-week assignment, I'm dividing the work into two phases.

Phase 1: Deliver by Tuesday, Feb. 17: a PDF containing the initial sketches. This should include:

• sketch of your concept
• description of the technical requirements
• system architecture (block diagram of software/hardware components)
• design rationale

Phase 2: Deliver by Tuesday, Feb. 24: design presentation
this can take the form of a model (real or computer), animation or prototype (software and/or hardware)
use whatever materials you feel best express the salient points of your work

I will provide feedback by Wednesday, Feb. 18 on your initial sketches. Final presentations will be judged on:

• originality of concept
• design (graphic, industrial, architectural)
• technical detail
• functionality as a wayfinding system
• presentation

Feel free to comment if you have any questions or suggestions.