Assignment week 3

Part 1: Think of a way in which you could develop an experimental map using images, sounds and stories. Some ideas… What else would we use if we didn’t use maps to find our sense of place? How would you map the sounds you hear every day? How would you map emotions? How would you map the overlooked peoples or places of Singapore?

To develop an experimental map of Singapore I think it would be a good idea to get into contact with the local blind and deaf people, to help collect the sounds and smells of the city, as I guess these would be expects.

For images there are different options. You could use some of the data already out there. In Ingress (and pokemon go), trademarks, sculptures and other “alternative” places are already mapped out (see examples underneath). You could also divide the city into smaller sections, and ask snapchat users to share brief moments of the place.

pokestop1pokestop28

Another way if presented with google glasses(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSnB06um5r4)   (or the video we saw in week 2) where the glasses tell you where to go, and could give you the directions. The glasses could also be combined with the previous mentioned ideas.

 

 

Part 2:  Read CH 1 Annette Kim, Sidewalk City: Remapping Public Space in Ho Chi Minh City (2015)

I think the reading touches some interesting subjects. One of the main reasons why I wanted to go aboard and live in another city is to explore Singapore as a resident and not as a tourist. The feel of the town and not just what can be found on map as tourist attractions.

I don’t believe there is a shortcut to this. You can get a glimpse of it, when traveling with a local, but to really feel it, you have to invest time into it, immerse yourself and become part of the city.

I also think that she is absolutely correct when she talks about how urban designers often imagine open, green spaces when discussing public spaces, as I know a few who recently graduated in Denmark and when we were talking about their education, we talked about things like parks, and flow though the city and sidewalks where only mentioned in passing, not as something you design.

As for designing the reading give some good examples about the importance of listening to the locals and not focus solely on site condition and so on. A proper design solutions require an understanding of the design problem.

It makes me think of the name of my education: “Integrated Design”.
The integrate part can be understood in several ways, as it contains parts from different aspect involved when designing:

– integration of design and society

– integration of design and engineering

– integration of design and business

All these things are necessary for a good design.

 

The reading got me thinking of this picture.

walkway

Like the idea of mixed-use sidewalk.

By making an interactive userdriven map, as suggested in part 1, it would not be decided by the mapmaker’s what to map and not to map, and the maps would be more in touch with the locals.

 

  • Why is spatial ethnography, to integrate social science research with physical design, so hard?
  • Shouldn’t you also be aware of what the people could use, but doesn’t know?