The Project

Colbert railway station in Limerick, Ireland is the public space we decided to study. We wanted to evaluate people's current experience of the space and to design an interactive element to enhance it.

This area is a busy environment with much activity, particularly in the central concourse area.
Observing the space and talking to workers and passengers, it emerged that this space was considered boring, unfriendly and had a serious litter problem.

Reflecting on these findings, we decided to design a technologically enhanced litterbin that would encourage the public to dispose of their litter, introduce a fun element in the space and ease some of the station workers daily tasks.

The Process

We chose the station because it is a gateway to the city of Limerick. It is the first place you see when taking public transport to the city and the last place you see before leaving.
We decided to focus on the main concourse area of the station.
In order to understand this space, observations were carried out to evaluate the current experience of the space and activities associated with the location.
We noticed a broad range of people moving through the area including station staff, commuters, first time travellers, groups, families and general loiterers.

Following the field studies it became apparent that the station is more than just a physical space: it is a space which provokes reactions and conjures up mixed feelings from both the passing public and the staff.
Impressions from numerous people regarding the space indicated that there were unanimous feelings of boredom, and a definite perception of untidiness.
The people passing through the area also expressed concerns over the cold and dreary atmosphere, and also over a lack of entertainment.

Initial feedback from meetings with the Station Master indicated that the concourse area was in disarray primarily due to its litter problem.
Also the depot workers, who were consulted throughout numerous participatory design sessions, confirmed our findings.

Therefore, we decided to enhance the current litterbins through technology.

We wanted to:

• Encourage people to use the bins.
• Encourage people to use more of a space that is often disregarded.
• Promote a higher level of social interaction among the members of the public.
• Introduce an element to Colbert station which makes it different from any other station.
• Associate a new positive experience with an existing element of the space.
• Help staff members in their daily duties.

We envisaged a group of bins that move and dance through the space, talk to people inviting them to dispose of their litter, and can be easily assembled together by cleaning personnel to be emptied at the end of each day.

This system would also accommodate the various ways in which the space is used throughout the day.

We designed low-tech prototypes of the bins that were introduced into the space and tested with users and staff.
We are currently exploring possibilities for a full implementation of this system and all the features we envisaged.

Donnacha Toomey is from Killonan, Co. Limerick, Ireland. He graduated from the University of Limerick with a B.Sc. in Materials Science in 1994. Following this he spent most of his time working in Italy as a Product Development Engineer in the Industrial Diamond sector. On his return to Ireland he worked primarily as a senior research engineer. Donnacha is currently completing a Masters in Interactive Media at the University of Limerick