P A I R — jclayton

P A I R: A Restaurant For Relationships

Objective

New York is the 10th most sexually active city in the US in 2022. New Yorkers have sex 5 times more than national average. NYC has the second most one night stands in the country.

Our Initial Goal

>> to study people’s real life experiences, needs, and desires in relation to intimacy in New York City
>> to understand how those experiences relate to space/use of space
>> identify how social media impacts intimacy and hookup culture especially in New York

Approach

Research Findings

Throught the above research methods we saw consistant themes that pushed our research in a couple more specified directions. These themes include a culture of workaholism, continuous dissatisfaction, and a lack of communication in relationships. We also noticed themes that are specific to New York City and to young people - everyone is in a rush, people constantly want new/different experiences, and dating apps have made dating a game. From this reseach we understand that there are a lot of themes that relate to the cultre of our generation and the culture of New York City that we cannot change overnight, but we decided that the best opportunity for solution came from single people who are unhappy being single.

Target Audience: Single People Who Are Unhappy Being Single

HMW Statements

>> How might we design a space for people who are unhappy being single in NYC?
>>How might we design a space for people who want to cultivate deeper- more intimate relationships?
>>How might we design for a culture invested in workah

Project Outcome

With these questions in mind we designed:

P A I R - A Restaurant for Relationships

User Actions

Includes possible user actions and risks associated with those actions within the bounds of the conceptual space.

Moodboard

The goal is to have a space that brings together people who have similar intentions, an opportunity for those people to slow down and make meaningful connections without the promotion of hookup culture. The physical space is designed to foster intimacy and comfortability so that people are able to take the time to trust eachother. The intention of the space is built into it’s physical design.

Experiential Design

The physical space is exclusive and intimate. Purchasing tickets are necessary to get inside. In each space there are a series of safe charging stations for participants to put their phone down if they so choose to be sure the devices are accessible if needed, but unable to be used as a social crutch. Different areas of the space will have different vibes and activities so that people with similar interests will be naturally filtered into the spaces that they feel compatible in with people that they will have something in common with.
>> ie. comfy cushion area with mood lighting, smoking allowed, and funky music will attract a specific group of people who are almost garunteed to have something in common

Activities are part of the experience of the space. There are large group planned activities oonce a month including things like salsa dancing class or live music. In the more intimate areas guests can order from the “Activity Menu” that includes a series of different game and drink combinations to help keep conversations interesting and push guests to get deeper with eachother.