Abstract
The purpose of this research is to understand the relationship between sitting preferences and student activities by taking the case of public plaza at the Central Office of the Faculty of Engineering (KPFT) Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Yogyakarta. KPFT UGM as research object is divided into five zones, namely Zone A (west), Zone B and C (south), and Zone D and E (north). Field observation was done within one month period during working days (weekday) and weekends with observation time: in the morning (08.00-10.00), noon (12-14.00), and afternoon (16.00-18.00). In each of the observation zone, a place-centered mapping was investigated continuously. Informal interview and the questionnaire from 200 students as respondents also undertaken in this research. The results of this study showed that the students’ sitting preferences in the KPFT UGM influenced by the activities that they did. Some of the factors that affect the students’ sitting preferences are: 1) type of activities, 2) the number of people engage in the activity, 3) privacy needs, 4) the needs of the facilities, and 5) the distance between sitting zone in the KPFT UGM and the students’ major buildings.
Highlights
A communal space in an educational institution does has a function as gathering space or as a place of social interaction for students, but with a thoughtful planning it can be used as facilities for students to perform various secondary activities within the space
The reasons students came to KPFT UGM to perform their activity were because: 1) adequate facilities (61.0%), and 2) close to the respondents’ major building (25.0%)
For example the students who came and sat in zone A have major in Physics, Industrial, and Civil. When these majors were being compared to the KPFT UGM area, it is obvious that indirectly proximity
Summary
A communal space in an educational institution does has a function as gathering space or as a place of social interaction for students, but with a thoughtful planning it can be used as facilities for students to perform various secondary activities within the space. These secondary activities are performing tasks, discussions, gathering, browsing information, exhibition and others. These kind of communal space the function of public Plaza at KPFT UGM. Informal learning space that is located outside the classroom usually occurs in the library, cafes, or another location that allows students to gather (Lomas, 2006)
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