| Title |
Seclusion, Obscurity and Impermanence of Designated Break Rooms for Janitorial Staff on University Campuses |
| Authors |
김민지(Kim, Min-Ji) ; 최춘웅(Choi, Choon) |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5659/JAIK.2023.39.2.129 |
| Keywords |
Janitorial Labor; Break Rooms; Spatial Inequality; Commons; Campus Commons |
| Abstract |
Commoning and collective approaches to space planning within university campuses can help foster a stronger sense of community and
equity. But the increasing privatization of urban space has often influenced the spatial distribution within campus buildings, and the spaces
designated for support staff, in particular, are often neglected, or intentionally hidden. Through photojournalistic documentation and personal
interviews, this study provides a status report on the state of spatial equity within buildings on the campus of University A, selected as a
representative sample of a typical university in Korea struggling to achieve a more egalitarian and humanitarian distribution of built spaces
while dealing with perpetual space shortage. The concept of commoning, or campus as commons, as a theoretical framework, this study
suggests possibilities for improvement in three areas of shortcomings regarding break rooms as identified through the study: seclusion,
obscurity, and impermanence. The findings may provide helpful insights for adding qualitative considerations to the recently implemented
guidelines which have narrowly focused on quantitative improvement. The findings also revealed that the multiple programmatic demands
within the break rooms suggest its areas cannot be strictly based on number of users but also the duration and types of activities. |