Sketch Ideas
Claire Mookerjee These are some outlines showing how I would deliver against the objectives set out for urbanism lead at the Futures and Best Practice team 1.. Intro 2. Futures Framing 3. Creators Team 4. Project Process 5. Urban Prototyping 6. Cultural Dissemination
Projects at the Catapult are faced with the challenge – and opportunity to bring to life and help legitimise good ideas, concepts and technologies which are being failed by the current institutional and investing landscape. If the Catapult can help surmount those barriers if it can show-through-doing and leave a blueprint for others then it could make inroads for wider urban change, one project at a time, and support others to follow in the wake. To achieve this goal the Catapult must be the go-to organisation for the development of urban innovations, and to have won the respect and attention of the right audiences. This will require demonstrable leadership in setting out challenging ideas through projects, exhibition and publication, and seeking to claim the culturalinstitutional space between industry, society and culture.
F u t u re s F r a m in g
Current trends Urbanisat ion Ageing Sharing economy Participation of women Urban e co nom ic growth
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Timeless needs Social animals Fa m i l y a n d l o v e Wo n d e r s o f natural world Sensory experience Fu l f i l m e n t i n w o r k
Framing the future When contemplating how society might change in the near future, it is crucial to recognise the unchanging aspects of what it is to be human. This couches the imagination in the permanence of human needs and desires, but allows us to contemplate the changing ways we can meet them. When considering the products and services of the future, an awareness of how our changing society is embedded within eternal human factors will be crucial for the team.
C re a t o r s Te a m
Materials
Products
Ev e r y d a y d o c u m e n t i n g
Bank of material
City as lab
Films & Exhibits
Making-do
Books, blogs, essays
London Pet projects
Ca t a p u l t s t a r t - u p Lectures
The culture Teams of creators will generate and share lots of material day-to-day. They will engender creative confidence across the Catapult departments, as well as those who work with us. The role is to inspire and nuture design in people and projects, not be proprietorial. Teams will use the resources of the whole city. London; access fab-labs and makerspaces. We don’t need to be constrained by what tools we have at the Catapult Pet projects; give space for personal projects, as these could become a Catapult start-up or publication Bank of material; set up simple, low-maintenance sharing platforms
City as lab; finding places to both gather insights and trial/hack new ideas is a great way to gauge potential and break perceived barriers Teaching; all team members should be lecturing and doing crits in order to learn, grow and harvest ideas as well as meet new people
P ro je c t P ro c e ss
Surplus ideas captured Lock Down Momentum Reasonable Co n s t r a i n t s Start
Deliver Short timeline
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Communication moments
Project lead Create the structure which drives new ideas and the generation of lots of material, and provide a place for that material to be communicated even if it is discounted from the final result. Constraints and clear roles need to be in place from the start, all the while documenting process. Reasonable Constraints; defined boundaries support good outcomes Short timelines; need to juggle pipeline to ensure teams can be involved in one project at a time Momentum; need to make decisions quickly, and give visibilty to work, celebrating accomplishments
Lock down; shifting from idea generation to tightly managed delivery Surplus ideas captured; system to make collateral publications and knowledge sharing from surplus ideas and material Communication moments; these are mini deadlines, opportunities for the process and team to communicate
Ur b a n P ro t o t y pin g Te m p o r a r y i s a l w a y s e a s i e r t o g a i n p e r m i s s i o n f o r. . . . 1.
Jo i n t l y d e v e l o p
2.
Fa c i l i t a t e Innovation
3.
Innovation zone
Showcase
Tr i a l , t e s t , m e a s u r e & r e f i n e Parklets, summer streets and other hacked city products or services can have drastic cultural effects, paving the way for more permanent change. It is within the grasp of the Catapult to vanguard prototypes for the mainstream, encouraging up-take of innovation zones, giving visibilty to the best innovations trialling in cities around the UK, and leaving a blueprint for others City Councils; vacant sites and buildings Public space; hackable (within reason) New development sites; with developers’ buy-in City Deals; exploit new opportunities
Competition; municipal authorities can reach out to innovators One day only trials; like Summer Streets Citizen led organisation; like the food festival in Finland
Cu l t u r a l d i s s e m i n ation
Great Exhibtion
Expo
Networked Expo
1851
1960s
2014 and beyond
New Cultural Space It is important that the Catapult claims the cultural space around the products and services of the future, asking what we want and guarding against the technological determinsim implied by the ‘smart city’ agenda. Project collateral; highly visible offshoots as blogs and project pages Themed; publications to reflect targeted expertise Placed; find public platforms for our work Long-form; exploit emerging appetite for more considered analysis
Partnering; connect with existing institutions and build on their programmes, eg. V&A, ADF and Design Museum Audience retention; sustain a following with brave and well considered material Reach; find international audiences through exhibitions and publications