Gup Shup
Gup-Shup is to rediscover the potency of the Grand Place.The visual experience of the neighbouring Church of Saint Christopher is diluted in the current sea of parked cars. Grand Place reinvents itself as Gup-Shup which is an idea-hub, a place for organic conversations, co-creation and out of the box visualisations. Gup-shup in the hindi language means a casual chit chat. In India, a chit chat is accompanied with a cup of tea. On similar lines Gup-Shup in Grand Place has no rules, no rituals; it’s a warm space whose friendly casualness that embraces everyone around and works as catalyst for participatory design thinking. Creativity needs a suitable environment to manifest into a vision. Working individuals take a few tea( chai) breaks during the day, which work as catalysts in increasing people’s creativity, productivity and also helps them build their network and be more efficient. Gup-Shup is intended to be a socialising hub of like-minded people. The planning and layout of the area is such that it democratises inter-people interactions and doesn’t make any associations with any biases. Gup-Shup will capitalise on the various spatial and temporal dimensions of human behavior way people sit around casually according to their comfort, works as a catalyst to have relaxed easy conversations. Unlike a café, where you sit formally around a table. The development of Gup-Shup will encourage people to employ new means of professional engagement. The changing urban scenario of Tourcoing’s Grand Place is pointing towards the setting up of artists’ and design studios and work spaces. In the process of place- making of this space, the shops around it can align their businesses to suit ¬¬the changing needs of the activities that will develop in this space. Thus in more ways than one the present parking space can tranform into a vibrant democratic public space.
About the Project
Site & theme selection
Initial ideation
Linking storiesChai culture
Concept development
Final detailing & execution
Our Process
Grand Place, La Labo, Tourcoing is the chosen site for our intervention. The space currently functions as a car parking.
Site Selected
Tourcoing The town once attacked. The town that never gave up. Revived once. Revived again. And again. Where cannons once roared, poems also poured. A town of poetic inspirations, of architectural explorations. The fabric of architecture. The architecture of fabrics. The glorious town. Of hope. And of courage. The olympians dove and chased the gold. Of stories and rhymes for years to be told. The distant bells. So near yet so far. Tourcoing, that’s where we are. Where is everyone? Not at the church, not in the town. Theatrical scenes, sights and sounds. If only there were people abound. Tourcoing is a town with a glorious past with charming stories to tell of its own. Like an aged person, neglected by the young. As the technology driven life drives past it, it crookedly tries to reach to the other end of the path. Times waits for none, but it makes an exception this time. The bells of St. Christopher are calling out loud to revive the town to its former glory. An amalgamation of architectural heritage and cultural wealth. When the world is heading towards homogenity and monotony. Bespoke stands a chance in Tourcoing. We are inspired by its undefeatable spirit, one that emerged victorious once. It will again. Tourcoing will no longer be just a thoroughfare. Tourcoing will be the destination. For the hopelessly creative. And the relentlessly optimistic Reinvent. Rediscover. Relive.
1 - New trades, new modes of consumption 2 – Universal access to public services
3 – Reinventing forgotten urban spaces the urban time-out
Theme Chosen
We approached the project from all directions, initial exploring all themes and sites. We brainstormed and mapped various possibilities. After analysing and weighing our various interventions ideas and decided to further develop on our vision to reinvent the Grand Place, La Labo, Tourcoing.
Initial Ideation
The concept draws inspiration from traditional Indian chai stall etiquettes of sitting at low heights without a table. People traditionally sit on stools or squat on the floor around low platforms to form a communal setting and then spend hours conversing and drinking Indian masala chai, a milk based tea infused with spices, herbs and quantities of sugar. These pieces are perfect for outdoors where organic seating is important, in order to develop urban spaces such as Grand Place.
Narrative
Our Proposal
Frame Details
Stainless steel mesh
Stainless steel frame
Recycled plastic
Material : As France is the 2nd largest plastic waste producer in EU and Lille metropolis is a center of excellence for plastic Industry and allied products .Taking advantage of this situation the stools can be manufactured from completely recycled plastic waste. Recycled plastic furniture can be made from waste obtained from post-consumer and pre-consumer plastic products like random electronic devices, toys, drink trays, stadium seats and other plastic waste—The line can uses various techniques for production like waste 3D printing, Rotomoulding etc (Links) Today the world welcomes the concept of 3R’s: Rethink recycle reuse. This process is 100% applicable and perfect for massive settings for urban furniture, and outdoor seating. http://singularityhub.com/2012/04/23/3d-printing-robotproduces-chairs-and-tables-from-recycled-waste/ http://retaildesignblog.net/2012/04/17/100-recycled-plastic-furniture-by-rodrigo-alonso-for-fahneu
Stool details
Landscaping has been done following the gridlines of existing tile patterns at grand place. The grid landscape has not only helped in orienting and organizing the tic tac toe walls but also helped in creating small zones for different number of groups having creative conversations
Landscaping
Retail
PRESENT SENARIO
FUTURE SENARIO CafÊ’s
th w o Gr Development of the area
Shops
Parking Space
Restaurants
Chai Culture
Economic Growth
Co-Creation Zone
Attract more people
The development of Gup-Shup will encourage people to employ new means of professional engagement. The changing urban scenario of Tourcoing's Grand Place is pointing towards the setting up of artists' and design studios and work spaces. Taking this into consideration, the newly developed spaces will attract idea generators to explore the outdoors for the process of design thinking. The organic morphology of the space and the components adds a transitory quality to the place. Every day will have a different arrangement of stools on the tic tac toe panels, bringing a element of surprise to the daily users of the space. As a fun outdoor space, it is suitable for all to get together. In the process of place- making of this space, the shops around it can align their businesses to suit the changing needs of the activities that will develop in this space. Thus in more ways than one the present parking space can tranform into a vibrant democratic public space.
Projected Vision
The choice of site- The spirit of Tourcoing inspired us to intervene and design for it. In continuation with our initial thought for the town of Tourcoing, we envisaged it as a hub of explorations and innovations around the theme of reinventing forgotten urban spaces. The chosen site La Labo’s Grand Place is a potent space for future design entrepreneurships to flourish, given its central location in Tourcoing and the town’s proximity and efficient connectivity to the European capitals of Paris, London and Brussels. Grand Place has all the makings of a design hub, with its rich architecture, historical connect and visual grandeur which can serve as a spark to one’s creativity. In a competitively advancing world, it is an idea which sets one apart from the rest. The intervention- Gup-Shup is to rediscover the potency of the Grand Place. Presently the space is used merely as a parking and serves as a back-end space. The visual experience of the neighbouring Church of Saint Christopher is diluted in the current sea of parked cars. Grand Place reinvents itself as Gup-Shup which is an idea-hub, a place for organic conversations, co-creation and out of the box visualisations. Gup-shup in the hindi language means a casual chit chat. In India, a chit chat is accompanied with a cup of tea. Tea popularly known in India as Chai is essentially the most popular beverage in the country. The varied landscape of urban and rural India is dotted with multifarious tea stalls. Over decades India, has immersed itself in a rich and diverse chai drinking culture. As a result chai time or tea breaks are common all around the subcontinent; it is a unique time that brings together everyone from all walks of life to have an ever evolving chai experience. On similar lines Gup-Shup in Grand Place has no rules, no rituals; it’s a warm space whose friendly casualness that embraces everyone around and works as catalyst for participatory design thinking. The wall installations are stacked with stools in a fun and engaging pattern, employing the popular game of tic tac toe. The intent- Creativity needs a suitable environment to manifest into a vision. Monotonous spaces and routines can dull a mind. Working individuals take a few tea( chai) breaks during the day, which work as catalysts in increasing people’s creativity, productivity and also helps them build their network and be more efficient. Gup-Shup is intended to be a socialising hub of like-minded people. The planning and layout of the area is such that it democratises inter-people interactions and doesn’t make any associations with any biases. It is a place for all to take time out of the indoors to capitalise on the informal and psychologically organic nature of the space. Gup-Shup will capitalise on the various spatial and temporal dimensions of human behavior way people sit around casually according to their comfort, works as a catalyst to have relaxed easy conversations. Unlike a café, where you sit formally around a table. Our Vision -The development of Gup-Shup will encourage people to employ new means of professional engagement. The changing urban scenario of Tourcoing’s Grand Place is pointing towards the setting up of artists’ and design studios and work spaces. Taking this into consideration, the newly developed spaces will attract idea generators to explore the outdoors for the process of design thinking. The organic morphology of the space and the components adds a transitory quality to the place. Every day will have a different arrangement of stools on the tic tac toe panels, bringing a element of surprise to the daily users of the space. As a fun outdoor space, it is suitable for all to get together. In the process of place- making of this space, the shops around it can align their businesses to suit the changing needs of the activities that will develop in this space. Thus in more ways than one the present parking space can tranform into a vibrant democratic public space.
Project Sheet