This blogpost I wish to dedicate to all my ideas and all the directions I have thought about going. Since I have researched such a broad topic, I also have a broad list of ideas I would like to do.
Ceramic Plate
I really wanted to make a clay plate. For a long time, I have wanted to learn ceramics, and thought: maybe I can use this semester to learn this skill! I also found inspiration from a company from New Zealand who became really popular from their “Boring Platter” (see picture below)
The Boring Platter from Author Ceramics
Pros:
- I might learn a new skill
- This project moves into the community living world, where multiple people live together and where it may encourage people to share meals
Cons:
- difficult to get hold of a ceramic workshop and equipment
- expensive equipment
- does not make a lot of impact
Stackables
I have also thought about making stackable kitchenware or furniture. This can be stackable tables, chairs, beds, sofas or kitchenware like pots, plates and cups.
It is under the topic of finding new ways to live – with fewer items, in a smaller area, and with multiple people. It tries to tackle the problems of living small and with less – and how to make smart solutions for this. Another factor of these products would of course be that they are made of sustainable or reused materials. I find this very interesting, since I can see myself trying to live like this at some point in my life – and already see the necessity of these kind of products from having a camper. I also like working with my hands, and would love to get better known with different materials, and how to potensially upcycle or reuse something for a different purpose.
Public furniture to encourage interaction
Another way I see myself going is to focus on creating better urban lives. This can be done through welldesigned streets and areas between the houses. I was inspired from seeing a danish series called Byenes Mester, translated to The Master of Cities, featuring the danish architect Jan Gehl. He is one of the earliest architects to talk about planning cities for humans that encourage social interaction and well being, rather than cars and industry. Through the series, we see how his visions transformed some well known cities like Melbourne, New York and Oslo from empty, sad, grey cities into walkable and flourishing cities. I was very inspired by this series to contribute to making cities more human friendly. MaybeI I could do it through making furniture?
By creating an easy to use, accessible and perhaps multipurpose furniture, some urban areas might become a more inviting and better space. This can again increase the chance of someone interacting with each other if it is a stranger or a neighbour – and through this creating community (jippi!!)
A piece of furniture alone will of course not be able to transform a place, but seeing it as a part of a whole would be very interesting. I could also see myself trying to design whole areas, including positioning of the furniture, green areas, the intended flow of people in an existing urban area – so actually going into the world of architecture.
Material Tests
Since this topic is so big, I might try to narrow it down to something very small and tangible. Perhaps investigating what materials (to potentially use for these furnitures) do people like the most. Maybe conduct smell, touch and visual tests to find out what people would like to be surrounded by.
Urban Gardening
Another related topic is urban gardening. This is something I see very important, very useful and as a easy and tangible solution to a lot of problems. As for my self, I am very into gardening and see the values of doing so. I have also used a lot of time and energy to research topics such as urban green areas, biodiversity loss, the environmental crisis, and how green areas are good for peoples mental health – LIKE PLEASE JUST STICK YOUR HANDS IN THE DIRT PLEASE! Science says its good for you!!
The Rest
Now this post is getting very long so I will just list the other ideas/topics I believe in:
- Research the sociology/psychology aspect of what makes people interact with each other
- Create the ultimate community(!!!)
- and perhaps research what are the barriers for “normal” middle class people to live more community like
- Try to point out and transfer some of the co-living traits to modern urban living
- case study: what exists of community styles out there?
- TO GO EVEN BIGGER: try to join the “circular economics” movement – can I contribute here?
Thankyou.
