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Pre-Build Session:
Audience for a Playground
ARCHITECTURE, CITIZENSHIP & LEARNING
CRITICAL REVIEW OF DESIGN PROPOSAL / / / / / / / / / /
VILLA VERDE, CONSTITUCIÓN, CHILE
08 July 2017
CONSTRUCTION WEEKENDS
Participatory Design in Villa Verde: Pre-Build Session
We got together in the social center of Villa Verde to discuss the design progress of the multi-functional spectator stands. Alterations in the design were made based on neighbour contributions made in the previous on-site session. We began by reviewing the ideas, challenges, and concerns that resulted from our previous sessions with neighbourhood leaders and the local residents -both adults and children. We presented the benefits of all these different outlooks and how they could contribute to a design that works for all, create spaces that are flexible and intergenerational, and present opportunities for expressing a local identity.
We followed up with presenting examples of innovative and inspirational projects from other communities, observing how designs can continue to evolve during the construction process. These examples also show how small and imaginative alterations made with basic elements by the community itself can open up a world of new possibilities. The principle source of these examples was @public_workshops (Instagram).
“From now on, we get our hands dirty and build”
Neighbour of Villa Verde
Having the results of previous sessions and external references as support, we presented the current design of the project with a digital model. We identified key parts of its requested uses, design decisions, and community concerns and demonstrated how the design responds to them. We also defined certain details that should be resolved later in the construction process. In an open manner, neighbours commented with their ideas and concerns about different aspects of the design. We moved through a digital mockup made in Sketchup during the conversation so that neighbours could comment on and investigate different parts of the design.
As mentioned by one of the neighbours, “From now on, we get our hands dirty and build”. Construction will be a community effort conducted by the adults and children of the community alike, an important aspect of the project being to create a sense of local ownership over the space. According to one of the community leaders, “The most important part is that you come and help out, because you all will be using it at some point”.
In collaboration with:
Urbanismo Social Foundation
Financed by the Chilean National Council for Culture and the Arts