Ball State University has partnered with local manufacturing companies in the area to help enhance the community, one intersection at time.

MadJax is located at the intersection of Madison and Jackson in the northeast corner of downtown Muncie. The MadJax facility starts the transition from downtown businesses to residential neighborhoods. To help provide a better pedestrian experience and view for the vehicles passing by, the intersections around the facility were designed to help bring the community together. Art walks and other community activities help provide the newly designed intersections with more visitors to enjoy.

Students designed and built the benches through the Design-through-Production program. Students had the opportunity to work out of the facilities at MadJax with an agreement with Ball State to serve as a learning engagement through real-world projects. Working with industry partnerships and material sources in Indiana to give students experience with direct application of design and fabrication for community projects. Students worked with the galvanizer to watch the benches be processed to understand the process and design techniques.

The Building Better Neighborhoods grant supported the students in finding solutions to help transition the neighborhood around the perimeter of MadJax from commerce to residential in an inviting way. The benches were hot-dip galvanized to provide a maintenance free pedestrian zone that will be enjoyed for years to come.