Individual Project One Statement

Emerging from years of recession people have relinquished a luxurious existence. Communities values have shifted and as a result major cultural changes have occurred. Individualism is an out-dated paradigm, with society returning to fundamental ideals and embracing a more humble and modest lifestyle. The most basic needs of love, nourishment and unity underpin the communal mindset and success is today measured not by what we have but by what we can contribute.

Paddington 2017 is community where there is an unbounded marketplace for efficient peer to peer exchange of skills, goods, space and time. It is a platform for collaborative living. Neighbours shares goods and services freely and with an open exchange of ideas, a culture of generosity permeates the community. Paddington perpetuates self resilience and acts to encompass all community needs, it is framed by an existence of wellbeing and serves as a model to the greater global community.

Opportunities for Paddington Central now encompasses a repurposing of space and function.The site unifies four key provisions. A marketplace, co-creation centre, edutainment hub and well-fit institute. It engages stakeholders, innovators and community users in ideas generation, experimentation and hands-on experience and provides a means for people to become not only producers but also actors in the service of self resilience. It is an arena for the exchange of design, produce and innovation and acts as a springboard for community development. It laces learning with shared purpose and hands on activity and above all supports tangible practises and manifestations of wellness. 

Together these fuse the communities defining qualities and provide a physical setting in which collaborative interaction leads to a flourishing culture of prosperity and generosity.

Week Five : Further Research Architectural Possibility

As to progress further we again looked to expand upon our individual investigations into an aspect of this imagined architecture. Following my initial approach to co-creation, this week I sought to take it to the world. I sought abstractions of the movement as a way to try and push the boundaries of my own imagination.

Considering that mankind is now more connected with the tools to engage millions and more potential than ever to build a brighter future. It's no wonder that seeds of this concept are beginning to flourish. I found one paragraph from Feast on Good particularly poignant;

"A small step in a new direction leads to another and your steps change the path of those around you and when 'social change' change people the impact turns ripples into waves".

I think that this defines what, about co-creation could be so powerful and so very successful. It's the empowerment of the everyday citizen. It is the possibility of re-imagine how ideas are generated, goods are exchanged and living is created and it is a change I believe the world not only needs but will follow. To borrow the below advertisement, although not related to the practise of co-creation I believe it demonstrates what our future scenario, our sustainable future and are architectural opportunities are trying to achieve.

Follow its link. See for yourself. The Uniiverse is actually a virtual platform for the collaborative lifestyle. So it essentially already exists. Maybe then our future scenario is already growing. Maybe it just needs a home. Maybe that home is Paddington and maybe its manifestation will be Paddington Central. Nonetheless in terms of a succinct outcome for co-creation the below snippet is something I believe provides just but a taste of what may emerge as I progress on.

Week Five : Thoughts on Architectural Possibilities

Having explored  abstract ideas for architectural opportunity  throughout the course of our work, this week we sought to develop a unified vision for our ideas. While individual research had spawned new concepts and more elaborate understanding we were nonetheless determined to gather these individual threads and reaffirm an idea which permeated all aspects of Paddington.

In essence it is our dream that Paddington as a result of both market drivers and personal aspirations will emerge as a community that its citizens collectively shape. Paddington Central will acts as an urban structure that facilitates transparent interaction and rather than engaging in over planning provide opportunities to engage and evoke grass root participation. As a local platform for collaborative living we believe in the possibility for the centre to contain four defining spaces that both transact with the local community and serve as a model to the greater global audience. The below diagram outlines our four concepts and illustrates the provisions of such spaces.

To take a step back and relate these architectural possibilities to our earlier established future scenario I considered the progression of the community in reference to drivers, principles and subsequent patterns.

Whether we recognise it or not the future is already in motion, past choices, inventions and trends jostle, merge and coincide with emerging theories, innovations and dreams. In an attempt to delineate what I would consider 'game' changers the below infographics illustrates pressing global concerns and the diverging movements that have potential to underpin a utopian future. 

To launch from these drivers is to then envision Paddington as ground zero for the evolution of suburban settings. In the spectrum of a new communal mindset the principles outline below are what I would expect to underpin a society that has undergone such radical transformation. They represent the defining aspects of a truly humble existence.

Patterns within urban communities either strengthen or weaken those around them. To the extent that patterns strengthen and contribute to the balance and identity of a precinct, relates to the resilience of that community. Patterns are born of principles and thus in summary of my drivers - principles - patterns sequence the below image outlines that which I believe to underpin the nature of our architectural opportunities.

Week Four : Further Research People & Lifestyles

To build upon our model we each took one of the four concepts to research and develop further; I sought to explore the notion of co-creation. Co-creation is already an emerging idea, it is a natural continuation of the maker movement and it expands upon collaborative markets. It is manifested in spaces in which people can create content as well as consume it - an incubator of ideas and invention.

Reading an article entitled What Google Gets that OthersDon't: Innovation Evolves Customers I was poised to consider that society is in effect shaped and moulded by the goods and services with which they interact. The writers suggested that successful innovators ask users to embrace - or at least tolerate - new values, skills, behaviours, vocabularies, ideas, expectations and aspirations. They transform their customers. Successful innovators reinvent their customers as well as their businesses. So what then if society reinvented or empowered everyday people rather than just customers. What if the idea of co-creation became the innovator asking users to embrace new practises. What would this look like, how would it feel and what would it produce?

I would imagine that an existence of this nature would incite much change in the practises of people. Likewise it would entail a set of entirely unique activities and experiences underpinned by new values and behavioural characteristics. Below I have attempted to elaborate some of these possibilities.

In spite of how physical we imagine the world, experience is not simply a physical construct. It also entails mental, emotional, social and temporal dimensions and it makes imagining the future infinite. Thus in an effort to simplify my thoughts about how co-creation could manifest I am going to suggest that this aspect of our future scenario will be underpinned by four elements;

Immersion: delving into new practises and systems that offer real sensory experience.

Associated activities: virtual communication via digital interface, ideas generation in an immersive reality - digital or projected surfaces

Interactivity, allowing users to become part of a local living economy and influence the outcome of ideas, innovations and plans.

Associated activities: rapid prototyping - self innovation/trialling ideas, manufacturing - physical construction, test groups - trialling hardware/ software

Integration, having a seamless connection between different people and platforms being used, going beyond input-output to networking and cross-collaboration.

Associated activities: self learning, education/ workshop sessions - community learning, virtual collaboration - meeting foreign innovators/ establishing community partnerships.

Impact: inspiring people to take action and become motivated to shape their own reality.

Associated activities: Update and review of online database, contributions to and from public forum, showcase/workshops in a public arena - pop-up ventures

To unite all these ideas then the following recount is how I would imagine a moment in time for the co-creation centre; Entering our Paddington studio I took my place at the virtual interface and greeted my fellow collaborative team. The charette today was to centre upon ideas generation for an upcoming streetscape initiative. Several scripts for community courseware had already been established however we were still refining specifications for shared hardware. Following a review of models established in neighbouring precincts we agreed on a handful of portable designs to rapid prototype in trial. Following the meeting close I set about updating our case model in the online database and perused several feedback comments on the public forum. After receiving a message from David and noting it was lunch I decided to then log out of my station and set off into the centre to meet my family.

Week Four : Thoughts on Future Scenario

Resolving our future scenario this week our group was challenged to imagine the lifestyle of characters in this emerged reality. While our outcome was clear in imagining the overall picture I think we were all overwhelmed by the tangents that our ideas presented. 

In seeking to clarify our group scenario we established the following statement as to underpin further discussion and exploration; Emerging from years of recession the community of Brisbane have relinquished the luxurious lifestyle and have ultimately reassessed their relationship with material objects. Communities have shifted their values and as a result major cultural changes have occurred. The community has begun to embrace a more humble and modest lifestyle returning to fundamental ideals. Our most basic needs of love, nourishment and unity underpin the communal mindset and success is today measured not by what we have but by what we can contribute.

 

To consider more thoroughly what would drive such an emergence is to take account of current trends and challenges affecting the global population. Several of these triggers (detailed more thoroughly at Forum for the Future) include;

- The era of resource scarcity, the current (and projected) demand for natural resources is continually depleting the earth's stocks of virgin resources. In 2002 humanity was already consuming ecological resources 23% faster than the earth can replenish them. Not only will this adversely affect price, supply and business continuity but it will also compel shifts in the urban economy.

- Web-enabled citizen empowerment, ways in which people access information are changing, as is the nature of information businesses make available. Web connectivity in cities is enabling urban dwellers to become more empowered than ever before - as consumers, public service users, community members and even producers. 

- The changing workplace, according to Workwise UK, "work patterns are changing rapidly. Work is becoming more flexible in terms of location, timing and a multitude of other factors causing new work practises to emerge". It is a trend that is likely to have significant implications for business premises and working structure in the future.

- The rise of localism, localism is on the rise - it is shaping the way space is organised in cities, influencing our choice of goods and services. Architects and urban planners are increasingly looking for ways to create mixed-use urban neighbourhoods, with infrastructure designed to maximise its utility to local communities.

With our future scenario established, the question was then posed; what is emerging as social experience and how is that experience shared? What are the people and lifestyles that now exist? The map below provides an insight into the our shared thoughts.

Finding a more succinct expression for these ideas, we imagined four defining concepts that would underpin the everyday experiences of Paddington Central. These included; the marketplace, the co-creation centre, edutainment and the well-being. Each facet exists both as a standalone experience and as a part of the whole picture. Together they form a fusion

Week Three : Further Ideas

Having explored thoroughly lifestyle drivers for our sustainable future I tried to take a step forward and imagine an architectural context for this society. A line from this week's reading was my springboard; "among buildings as within them, differences of pace are everything". To consider buildings in a time-laden way is an interesting proposition and to be honest not something I had ever considered in-depth. To focus particularly on Brand's notion of human souls at the very end of the hierarchy as servants to our stuff. I would raise the question, that with the emergence of a generous and collaborative lifestyle will this end of the spectrum slow? And what is the implication of this change of pace upon the entire system?

To explore these questions further I considered the concept of slow architecture. So much of design is about pace, about investigating and understanding the question, yet speed has infiltrated architecture. The dominance of aesthetics and status have overrun the eternal nature of design. Space has become consumable. In contrast slow design is about designing for people, it is local, responsible, sustainable and mindful and I believe it is a notion aligned with the outcome of our imagined future. 

According to Brian, O Brien of Solearth EcologicalArchitecture

"Slow architecture might then be summed up by the following principles:
Patience, Craft, Sensuality and Materiality, Specificity, Delight, Contentment.

It would be the creation, appreciation, and enjoyment of all that is careful, that is textured and that stimulates the senses - and the sense of time, in buildings. Slow architecture would ‘enslow’ our senses, our thoughts, our movements and actions. It would add to the delight of our day by deepening a sense of being here; being present and being grounded-through the way the building has been created, is used, and ages".

Applying this notion of slow architecture then to my established future scenario. I came up with a few ideas for a more physical outcome. Below are a brief summary of each.

Week Three : Further Research

To build upon the seed of our idea I spent much time researching notions of collaborative consumption. It is a concept that Time Magazine named as one of Ten Ideas That Will Change the World and is in fact an emerging trend today. It is essentially the reinvention of old market behaviours; renting, lending, swapping, bartering and gifting - through technology, and it is taking place on a scale and in ways never possible before. It is classified as a peer-to-peer revolution and it is a movement that I would suggest underpins the essence of our imagined future. The following clip the Collaborative Consumption Hub explains the concept further.

In-class we asked ourselves how the social media generation will come into adulthood. How do we imagine a future in which this age of people are in a position of the current baby boomers? I would define the transition in one word connectedness. At the moment there is a growing gap between generations and it is underpinned by how people embrace technology and ascribe to the digital lifestyle. The below clip by Social Media Today illustrates my point.

So how then does this digital revolution marry into a future scenario? 

At present we live in a world of hyper-individualism, people are defined by material pursuits and driven by consumerism. Not only does this type of lifestyle have psychological implications; in short we're less happy than we used to be, but it is also profoundly effecting global resilience. We're reaching the tipping point of our planet with climate change, resource depletion and oil dependency the catchphrase of this decade

It is this growing dissatisfaction coupled with widespread recession that we believe will drive a paradigm shift. People will become dissolutioned and with growing scarcity and insecurity they will have to change. They will have to bleed their current ways, grieve their losses and rebuild their communities. That's not to say it will be a bleak outcome. This is where I believe the digital age will underpin the emergence of a new prosperity. The connectedness that online platforms offer I envision will foster true collaboration. The below clip by Lucky Ant is an example of such potential, it illustrates a form of networking already in practise today and I believe it to be indicative of our future scenario.

Processing these ideas for myself and in the spectrum of principles and patterns I came across an interesting diagram for collaborative consumption on the Collaborative Consumption Hub. It illustrates the drivers, principles and systems behind the movement.

I used this as a model to consider the drivers, principles, patterns, outcomes and ideas for our own future scenario and have included my exploration below.