DRS2012 Bangkok Proceedings Vol 4 - Design Research Society

Andreas UNTEIDIG, Florian SAMETINGER, Jennifer SCHUBERT,
Veronika AUMANN and Max SCHÄTH, Gesche JOOST
At the end of January the second ambassador workshop will take place, wherein the
group will strengthen its identity, grow in quantity and quality, dive deeper into the topic,
and sharpen definitions of problems, common attitudes and the future steps to take.
This is also when we will introduce first design concepts and prototypes that spring from
the insights we gathered during the first phase. These designs will be discussed, adapted
and improved with the participants. The knowledge sharing system that we gradually
introduced with our interventions will grow and incorporate designed elements such as
analog message boards, the aforementioned idea machine, a community website, a
section in the community newspaper and further ICT-based prototypes that we will
develop in the next phase. These elements will allow participants with diverse
backgrounds to be able to access the system in a way appropriate for them.
In March 2012 the semi-permanent Neighborhood Lab will open its doors in the passage,
and will be run by the first ambassador groups, with the aim of creating the next ones
through actively involving the inhabitants during the course of the project. This can mean
different kinds of workshops, competitions, concerts, theater plays, and more. It will serve
as a workplace for the active and conscious development of the neighborhoods
communication structures, while also providing the community with a steady touchpoint to
come into contact with the project and its content, as well as activities of the present
actors.
We also established and plan to strengthen contact with interested actor groups in the
island’s surroundings, such as a day care facility for children, a nearby comprehensive
school, and others. These contacts are to be turned into rich collaborators in order to
support the project‘s goal of inter-generational interaction for social sustainability.
Considering the academic aspects of the project, we are currently working on descriptive
papers that focus on the methodological as well as on the analytical outcomes of our
process.
The reflections coming out of both these dimensions will be carried into the community
discourse, and through peer reflection therefore have a considerable effect on the future
process.
Conference Proceedings 1687