On a Thursday night last semester, senior Jack Dickson and junior Krishan Mistry decided to move their residence building furniture onto the High Line outside A6. Half social experiment, half impromptu living room, the cluster of couches soon transformed the space outside their dorm.

Normally a stretch of transitory movement, the High Line became a gathering space, a coalescing of different social groups and friend circles. At one point, Dickson said, he counted over fifty people.

“[Mistry] and I were talking about things that we as students could do to help improve the school, because we realized one of the biggest problems was that there was no social focal point for people to gather,” said Dickson. “And the number one area that we figured would be the best for that would be the High Line. It’s somewhere everyone uses, but never a place where people stay.”

The night’s success became the origin for the Bean Bag Task Force, a current collaboration between students and Inter-Residence Hall Council that aims to bring more comfortable outdoor furniture to campus and to, ultimately, populate its spaces with pockets of community.

Continuing to move lounge furniture outside, however, was not a sustainable option. It conflicted with policies involving Serco, one of the university’s service providers, and campus fire safety. Dickson and Mistry began involving the university administration in talks on how they could proceed with the idea in ways still compatible with the campus’ design aesthetic and certain hazards like the sprinkler system and an ever-pervasive brand of Abu Dhabi mold.

“We started working very closely with [Deputy Dean of Students] Donna Eddleman, and she was incredibly enthusiastic about the whole thing,” added Dickson.

Mistry and Dickson put forth some proposals for possible furniture that could be used outdoors. According to Dickson, the balance hinged on knowing what furniture would be durable and yet also in line with the campus’ design aesthetic, particularly in regards to Deputy Vice Chancellor Hilary Ballon’s original plan.

“The idea that came up, and it was really supported by Ballon and [Eddleman], was this idea of having a bean bag experiment,” said Dickinson. The mobility of bean bags would have students taking their seating to preferred spots, allowing insight into the potential future of outdoor furniture on campus.

“We can see where people congregate, where we might be able to put furniture that would be of most use and that would also work with the design aesthetic,” said Dickson. “It’s this idea of taking a step back and being like, what’s the most sustainable way we can create social spaces on the high line?”

Mistry was partly motivated by his experience back in Sama Tower, where students lived within two-minute elevator rides from each other.

“We had such a tight knit community back in Sama and I felt that that sense of community was one of the most important parts of my college experience,” he said. “It’s important to note, however, that [on Saadiyat] we … are living on a campus designed for 2000 people with a student body of less than half of that. When you have 2000 students, you need to create physical divisions on a campus to help foster a sense of intimacy.”

When Mistry left for Shanghai for his spring semester, Dickson began working with IRHC, who he said was very helpful in pushing the project towards implementation.

According to IRHC President Laura Evans, a senior, IRHC has ordered a combination of 12 maroon, medium-sized bean bags and 12 deck chairs. In two weeks time, students will be able to rent the furniture from the C building of all three residential communities. The loans are designed to be short-term, so students will swap their ID cards for a bean bag or chair and then have the furniture for however long they like.

“We’re still figuring out how many will be in the full rollout, that depends on the budget it comes out of and how often [the furniture] gets used,” said Evans.

The date of the project’s full implementation has not yet been determined, but Evans predicts it will happen by the end of the semester. In addition to outdoor furniture, IRHC will also be introducing new hanging racks for resident community laundry rooms.

“You see people using the [bean bags] from [Campus Center], but the trouble with them is they’re not designed to be outside,” said Evans. “I think it’s going to bring people outside and create new opportunities for interaction.”

For Dickson, the aim of the project is to have students rethinking the purpose of the High Line on campus.

“For me, the end goal is to transform the High Line from a highway to a destination,” said Dickson.