The Haves and Wants Wall - A DIY Toolkit

Haves & Wants Wall

A toolkit by

Haves & Wants Wall?

What is it?

At its heart, the Haves and Wants Wall is a tool for community engagement/ participation.

The Haves & Wants wall is an installation that attempts to foster collaboration among people, by getting them to share what they have and what they want. The wall itself is a metaphor for people’s inhibitions- bred by their limitationswhich they would release into small notes. By doing so they break down these inhibitions through the act of sharing them with others while also knowing that there may be a possibility for them to be addressed. This act of asking is also made easier by the fact that in return one could give what they perceived to be as their own strengths.

6 steps to make your own wall

1. Get all the things you need Here is a checklist of all the essentials that you will need for installing a Haves & Wants wall-

Measuring Tape or Ruler

Steel Wire or Rope

A4 Paper in 2 colours

Printer

Scissors

Pen Holder

Regular size Table

A few pens/ markers

Push Pins

Dress pins

Hammer & Nails ( Required as per design)

Wooden Plank ( Required as per design)

2. Select a Site 1. Choose a location preferably with a good level of pedestrian traffic such as a park, a sidewalk, a mall, etc.

2. The wall can be set up indoors or outdoors. If you need to get permission to set up, please ensure that you do so prior to setting it up.

3. Timing matters as well‌ a street fair/ public event is a great opportunity to get people to participate in the installation. Be on the look out for such events in your neighbourhood.

3. Decide what kind of a wall your installation will have The example shown here in these photographs uses two coconut tree trunks as the frame to tie rows of metal wires to make the ‘wall’.

Rows of metal wires strung between tree trunks

Tree 1

Tree 2

There are other ways to build your wall tooOption 1: Install directly on a building wall or use wooden planks with nails to tie wires between them

I HAVE

I WANT

Option 2: Tie wires between two columns of a building

I HAVE

I WANT

Option 3: Install temporary posts in public spaces such as your neighbourhood park and tie wires between the posts

I HAVE

I WANT

Option 4: Use large-sized pin boards with enough push pins in stock to pin the notes directly onto the board. Mark out a grid on the pin-board to indicate where people can pin their notes.

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These are just a few options from a sea of various possibilities. As far as where and how you want to install your Wall, let your imagination run loose! Just make sure your wall is stable enough to stay in place for the duration of the installation. And please be careful not to hurt yourself or others while setting up.

4. Measure and mark • Measure and mark the placement of your wall keeping in mind the minimum clearance and maximum height from the ground level.

• The ideal clearance from the ground level should be 75cm and the top of the wall should be around 165cm.

• Also be sure to maintain a spacing of 20cm between the wires that form the wall.

• Likewise, if you are pinning on to a grid, be sure to measure and mark out a 15cm by 20cm grid to pin the notes.

Top of the wall should not be more than 165 cm from the ground level 20 cm gap between wires

75 cm minimum clearance from ground level

5. Print and cut notes to size • On the facing spread is the template for the ‘I have’ & ‘I want’ notes sized to A4.

• Print sufficient number of copies and neatly cut into 4 pieces i.e. each A4 print out will yield 4 notes. The number of notes to be printed depends on how many people will frequent your installation and how long it will be up.

• In order to distinguish between the Haves and Wants notes, it is preferable to print the ‘I have’ and ‘I want’ notes on different coloured papers.

I have

I have

© Urban Design Collective

© Urban Design Collective

I have

I have

© Urban Design Collective

© Urban Design Collective

I want

I want

© Urban Design Collective

© Urban Design Collective

I want

I want

© Urban Design Collective

© Urban Design Collective

6. Arrange the table • Stack the two sets of notes printed and cut to size separately on a table that is placed beside your wall. • Place pens/ markers beside the stack of notes. • If using wires for the wall, place a box of dress pins for participants to use to pin their notes onto the wires. If using a pin board, place a box of push pins for participants to pin their notes onto it.

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Demo showing how to pin up using dress pins on metal wires.

You’re all set now!

Invite passers-by to participate by explaining to them the purpose of the installation and the possibilities that could arise out of it.

In case the installation is unsupervised, put up clear instructions on what participants are supposed to do.

Don’t forget to take photographs of the wall at regular intervals.

Please also be sure to send us photos of your wall via email at urbandesigncollective@gmail.com

Haves and Wants Wall Concept and Detailing - Vidhya Mohankumar Graphics - Abinaya Rajavelu