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Photos: Through ShapeLab, interdisciplinary student teams designed interactive installations for the King Street Transit Pilot. Photos by Alia Youssef.

An innovative learning experience is letting Ryerson students create interactive art installations for the King Street Transit Pilot.

, a four-month experiential learning initiative, invited interdisciplinary student teams to design installations to add vibrancy to Toronto鈥檚 entertainment corridor. Four winning teams received $1,000 in prize money and up to $4,000 in prototype funding to make their designs a reality. The Ryerson students were also connected with real-world mentors鈥擱yerson faculty, city staff and private-sector professionals鈥攆or a hands-on learning opportunity.

鈥淲e told them that the activations needed to be fun and playful, and we might have even used the word 鈥榳himsical.鈥� We said they needed to encourage interaction between users and be accessible,鈥� said Daniel Fusca, senior policy advisor in the City of Toronto鈥檚 office. 鈥淭he philosophy of ShapeLab is that through collaborations between students and faculty, Ryerson, staff at the city, and professionals, we can find innovative solutions to pressing urban challenges together. This initial iteration of ShapeLab is one example of how that can happen.鈥�

鈥淪pecifically with the King Street Pilot Project, we all know how critical King Street is as a cultural spine of the City of Toronto,鈥� said Andrew Misiak, co-ordinator of stakeholder engagement and special projects, Office of the Chief Planner of Toronto. 鈥淲e wanted to give students the opportunity to take ownership in reimagining or re-visioning it.鈥�

One team, 鈥淚mprint,鈥� created a life-sized equivalent to the 3D pin-art boards that were popular in the 鈥�90s. Using large and colourful wooden dowels, the project (located at David Pecaut Square) allows passersby to leave an indentation of their whole body. Another team, 鈥淩esonance,鈥� created an interactive structure in which passersby could play drums, connected via steel wires that both transmit sound waves and create colourful light. 鈥淲e created something that鈥檚 a musical performance in the day that also lights up King Street at night,鈥� said team member Marwa Al-Saqqar.

鈥淚nstallation requires human resource organization,鈥� said Shengnan Gao, another 鈥淩esonance鈥� team member, 鈥渁nd also, a lot of financial considerations. In studio, we set up our own schedule for the deadlines; for public installations, we really have to keep the time in mind. That鈥檚 a very different experience for me.鈥�

鈥淲e went through many iterations of our design,鈥� said Al-Saqqar. 鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 the city, you have so many guidelines and codes you have to follow to make sure it鈥檚 safe for the public. It was hard to see what the city wants while also expressing yourself, but nevertheless, you have to remember what your bigger concept is. 鈥� Once it鈥檚 in real life, there鈥檚 always that probability that something will change. We always have to follow what the city can accomplish within that time, and if any changes happen, you have to have a quick rebound. Your problem-solving skills become quicker.鈥�

The project is a collaborative venture between Ryerson and the City of Toronto. It is co-ordinated by Ryerson鈥檚 Office of Social Innovation and Toronto鈥檚 City Planning Division, with support from the Office of Community Engagement, the Toronto Resilience Office, and students from the Design Fabrication Zone, the Ryerson City Building Institute, the Faculty of Community Services, and the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science.

鈥淥ne of the main philosophies of this is to provide a real-world problem for students to fix,鈥� said Misiak. 鈥淔rom my perspective, Ryerson has always taken pride in its reputation as a practical learning institution. They go out and fix things and have tangible results, and this really speaks to that. The students鈥� ideas and their professionalism throughout the whole program has really reflected well on Ryerson. It鈥檚 more than just a student project鈥攊t鈥檚 a real-world project.

鈥淚mprint鈥� and 鈥淩esonance鈥� were unveiled at David Pecaut Square on June 25, with other teams installing designs on July 7. For more information on ShapeLab, please visit .