RECODE: Public Space

RECODE DNA FOR 21ST CENTURY DWELLING

PUBLIC SPACE

A CLEAR VILLAGE WORKSHOP AT THE HUMAN CITIES FESTIVAL BRUSSELS, 8 MAY 2010 THAAANKS TO ALL FOR PARTICIPATING!

THE VILLAGE SQUARE -a clear village micro-lab The encounter between the public space, celebrated by the Human Cities Festival and the Village, the scale that Clear Village is working on, we suggest is The Village Square.

Thus, The Village Square was the conceptual framework for our workshop.

CONCEPTUAL VILLAGE SQUARE

ŠCLEAR VILLAGE 2010

Analysing The Village Square from afar, its functions seem to divide in three main categories: + self-reflection in environment & people: talk, relaxation, gossip, entertainment, networking, flirting, killing time, watching intrigues, intergenerational contact, overcoming hardship,... + knowledge sharing: tassit learning, community building, moral & ethics transfer, sense of belonging,... + economic & semi-economic activities: trade, job search, barter economy, swapping services, house hunting, settlements/elder council,...

Contemporary urban lifestyle caters for a lot of these activities, through social media, reality tv, ebay, game consoles, fitness studios, date sites, recruitment servise etc.

But is that as good as it gets?

THE CHALLENGE

We are left with issues of commercialisation of what should belong to the common good, a flatening of the social dimensions of our everyday lifes, not to mention that some facettes have not been addressed. They form the emphasis in this workshop: + well-being, leisure, overcoming hardship + identity, sense of belonging + moral transfer, ethics

HIGHLIGHTS & SUGGESTIONS

+ dependence day anchored the idea of embracing our holistic nature and celebrate inter-human and human-nature interdependency in a festival open for all + the cage with an open door stressed that the public space is worth defending for communial activities. These will root the individual in sharing and experiencing resources -of physical or immaterial naturewhilst never limiting the person’s freedom + culture kitchen framed a concept of working together as a community on events, inherently facilitating intergenerational knowledge sharing and creating multi purpose furniture that will physically manifestate the collaboration.