Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The Third Place

Ray Oldenburg defines a third place as "an informal public gathering place where the main activity is conversation." He is typically talking about pubs, libraries, health spa's, coffee shops, etc. It is a place where people can relax and not have to worry about their problems and socialize with their friends.

Successful third places are designed to welcome everyone. They should be very comfortable and inviting. These third places should be very reflexive, reminding those there of home and bringing everyone closer.

I believe that the Game Room in the Kalamazoo Campus has potential to be a successful third place because it is very friendly and inviting. It has a lot of activities to do and a lot of students go there to meet with their friends. This is a great place to get the stress of school off your mind. This could be improved by making the Game Room more comfortable because there are some things that shouldn't be where they are and it makes for an uncomfortable situtation.

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