We were tasked with designing and creating a model of a new urban social space that encourages and facilitates communication in a modern society. We were given a multitude of directions to approach this project; tackling issues like loneliness created by digital dependancy, globalisation and the void between digital and social connectivity. The brief asked how we can create a new public space – being site specific to one area in Dundee – which responds to the evolving landscape of connectivity. This new public space will be created as a (roughly) 1:100 model on a 150x150mm plane, and combined with the entire social digital classes models, will create a “future city”.
Concept work and sketches
We spent the first morning of the Making Spaces task doing “deep dive research”, walking around Dundee’s own urban social spaces in small groups to take inspiration, as well as get a feel for how our own social spaces will fit into their environments. My initial concepts focused primarily on ways to allow a community to interact and communicate digitally in a way which wouldn’t feel forced or uncomfortable. One concept which specifically appealed to me was allowing people to use their mobile phones, devices people are very comfortable using, to communicate in a physical sense.
For my location I chose the underpass close to the Wellgate centre; I chose this as I wanted to take an alternative approach to creating a social space, and rather than transforming or improving on an already existing social space I decided to create an entirely new social space in a location simply existing as a means of getting from point A to B.
For the social space I decided to reinvent and digitise an old game, where members of a group take turns writing a single word and collaboratively create a story. This creates a feeling of connectivity within the community, collectively working towards a creative outlet. Every day the stories on each wall of the overpass would be reset, allowing a constant influx of community driven creativity. I decided to utilise QR codes, allowing a pedestrian to scan a code which would direct them to a website that would allow them to upload their word of choice.
If this was to be installed in real life certain issues would have to be considered, such as bad language or xenophobic slang. These words could be filtered out, and certain other restrictions could be put in place thanks to the digital nature of the instillation.
Model making
After researching, investigating and sketching the proposed social space, I made a 1:100 scale model of the underpass. I used white card for the majority of the model, as it is easy to cut and fold at this scale, and foam to fill in either side of the underpass. The model started with rough card cut-outs to create the appropriate scale, then experimentation with adding chairs and plant pots outdoors to create a more social-feeling space.
The final model was created using the same materials as the initial models. The screens showed an example of how the “daily stories” would look in practice. I used a QR code (which actually leads to this blog) to show how pedestrians would use the installation. The road on top of the underpass is removable, allowing views of both the exterior and interior of the underpass.
I am very pleased with how the scale model turned out, I feel that it illustrated good design etiquette and conveyed the ideas I was hoping to show. I feel like this urban social space would bring members of the community together in a creatively cathartic way, and would allow strangers and good friends alike to interact with one another directly, and indirectly. Finally, the entire Social Digital class created a “future city”, combining all the urban social spaces to create a sprawling future vision of Dundee.
