Hiraeth

Hiraeth: a deep longing and nostalgia for a home that may or may not have ever existed. This was my last project in school, so I took the opportunity to create something personally meaningful and connect with people around me on a deeper level. As someone who has moved throughout my childhood, I have been unable to consider my place of living my home ever since I left my first house. Home looks different for everyone and it might not be a place that actually exists. Maybe it's a combination of places that exist. Or a place that exists only in the heart. Perhaps it's literally your childhood home, or at least the parts that you remember. To me, a home is a place that holds my dearest memories, fills me with comfort and nostalgia, and evokes a sense of belonging. It is a combination of all the places I've lived and people I've loved, so I was curious as to what home looked like to some of the people who made Pittsburgh home to me for the past four years.

A series of miniature spaces, designed based on various individuals' personal interpretations of home. Each room can be stacked in a box that allows it to be played with as a dollhouse, just as one did as a child, making new stories within the context of the old. Perhaps even strangers can find a home within Hiraeth's paper walls when they read through the small zines that contain personal accounts that pertain to each room.

Each room has some combination of moveable parts, furniture pieces scaled to dolls, and hidden details. On top of that, they are modular and can be moved around within the dollhouse's frame to customize the layout of the home.

Zines made to keep record of each individual's stories, miniature homes, and spoken words.

This dollhouse is simply a miniature model of a house. No screens, no buttons, no speakers... and yet, inherently interactive and engaging. Simplicity is often just as effective as complex ideas. This project made me confident that I could design an experience that was humble, but memorable. Additionally, the responses I received from the showcase reinforced the idea that products and spaces (as Hiraeth is, in a way, both) are effective media for storytelling, as friends and strangers alike commented that the mini rooms touched their hearts. I greatly enjoyed utilizing skills like model-making, UX research, and iterative prototyping that I had learned throughout the years, and pouring them into a project that resonated with my soul. Many thanks to Nicki, Roy, Minjoo, Izzy, Julianne, and Hannah for being so open and sharing your stories with me. When I began this project, I was only sure of two things--I wanted to connect with people and build something physical. Little did I know that would lead me to form such deep relationships with the people who were willing to participate. Moreover, thanks to Peter for always offering feedback, and to Dylan for being the most encouraging professor and consistently providing me with pep talks. Lastly, thank you Pittsburgh, for being a place where I now consider home.