Mohawk Group Fractal Patterns Enhance OSU Entrepreneur Center
At the heart of The Ohio State University’s (OSU) campus lies an expansive elliptical-shaped green space that has long served as a scenic gathering spot for students, faculty, and visitors alike. Known as the Oval, this iconic campus epicenter is encircled by a thicket of towering oaks, maples, sycamores, and buckeyes. Their lush canopies extend through leafy boughs, providing ample shade over the long pedestrian walkways that weave across the Oval, while forming intricate patterns that reflect nature’s fractal geometry.
Fractals, with their self-similar patterns and calming qualities, enhance well-being. This healing geometry, seen in the Oval’s natural elements, has been thoughtfully mirrored in the newly unveiled design of the Ohio State Student Entrepreneurs’ Center. Spearheaded by Rebekah Matheny, Associate Professor in the Department of Design at OSU, the project prominently features Mohawk Group’s Fractal Fluency carpet collection, showcasing fractal-based patterns that align with the center’s innovative and biophilic design approach.
Beginning in 2018, Matheny collaborated with the university’s Learning and Collaborative Environments team through her interior design studio, focusing on enhancing learning environments and addressing issues such as student belonging, sustainability, and biophilic design. This extensive research laid the foundation for the center, and her team of student design research assistants engaged in a series of co-design workshops to gather insights directly from the students. Over two months, the team developed design strategies based on students’ preferences for pixilated tech-style patterns, biophilic materials, and a soft, warm neutral color palette. These insights informed every aspect of the center’s design, which opened its doors earlier this year, reflecting the entrepreneurial spirit of its users while aligning with OSU’s broader commitment to innovation and fostering a sense of belonging across campus.
The interior of the Ohio State Student Entrepreneurs’ Center reflects a deep understanding of the pressures faced by student entrepreneurs. Matheny and her team developed a design toolkit based on biophilic principles, incorporating natural elements and patterns known to positively impact mental and physical health. Drawing on the science behind fractals, the design team was confident that selecting Mohawk Group’s Fractal Fluency collection would positively influence students’ behaviors and enhance their overall sense of well-being and belonging. Developed with 13&9 Design and Dr. Richard Taylor from the University of Oregon, the design concept behind this carpet collection is based on the “fractal fluency” model, which declares that human vision has become fluent in the visual language of nature’s fractals and can process their features efficiently, creating an aesthetic experience accompanied by a decrease in the observer’s physiological stress-levels.
“It is wonderful to know that Mohawk Group is creating products that resonate deeply with people who not just appreciate texture, color, pattern, and overall design, but see further into the mission of what we are doing regarding design for wellness,” says Royce Epstein, Senior Director of Design Insights at Mohawk Group. “The world is full of products today, and there are many choices for flooring. Mohawk Group strives to create products that serve people, place, and planet through sustainable strategies that allow people to thrive.” The Fractal Fluency collection became a defining feature of the space, merging geometric arrangements to foster creativity and collaboration among student entrepreneurs.
