Actually, I want to do something have more connection with the community(culture, gesture, behavior,..) but I still lack this kind of information, I am not sure what I exactly want to design. Therefore, I decided to exhibit an imaginative room space (based on the ‘what if’ writing on the previous blog) as a topic to interview the visitors. I am assuming that in order to stay in E&C to protect the relationship and culture within the communities,  there will be 5 or 6 people live in one flat for sharing the high rent. Everyone may only have 6.4㎡ private… More

After chatted with Nicolas, I started to think about the impact of aesthetic and art for healing or comforting people. What is art therapy? A definition for Wikipedia: Art therapy (also known as arts therapy) is a creative method of expression used as a therapeutic technique. Art therapy originated in the fields of art and psychotherapy and may vary in definition. Art therapy is used to treat wide range of physical, mental or emotional problems, diseases and disorders, help them communicate, overcome stress, and explore different aspects of their own personalities. Some situations in which art therapy might be utilized include: Children with learning disabilities… More

During the Indian Civil War, the Dharavi slums of Mumbai were flooded with refugees looking to escape the conflict. The Mumbai authorities, distracted by defence of the city and facing an already over-populated and poverty stricken slum could do little to maintain a semblance of civilised life in the area. Sometime later a cache of biological samples appeared through the criminal networks of Mumbai, in the vain hope that it might provide new marketable narcotic opportunities. The collective drive and expertise of the refugees managed to turn theses genetically-engineered fungal samples into a new type of infrastructure providing heat,… More

I am considering how people connect with each other in the long distance, not by phone, or internet. Of course, the internet created an awesome forum for communicating around all over the world. But at the same time, it produced many lonely people who only interact with each other online. So I researched and studied from some long distance gadgets online. Basically, the products for the long distance relationship are connected by touch, hear, and vision. The products with taste and smell are hard to find because creating a specific and precise flavor is complexity. Touch: Kissenger, Tactilu,… More

After the Thursday presentation, I still had no idea about what I could materialize the project although I had a basic concept. Then I started to rethink about the “what if” for the context “some Latinos in E&C area are unable to afford the living expenses because regeneration will cause rent rising“. In order to protect their community culture and relationship, I thought there will be two kinds of result, one is people will find a way to stay in the original area; the other is people will move out to other places and have a long distance contact with the previous… More

What is neo-tribe? From the definition on the Cambridge Dictionary, a group of people who sharing the same culture, language, and history and living away from urban. Tribus are not “tribes” in tranditional anthropological sense, for they do not have the fixity and longevity of tribes. This sentence is in the book The Time Of The Tribes written by  Michel Maffesoli. Maffesoli also mentioned people are playing distinct roles at different times during a day so compared to the tribe, neo-tribe is more unstable and changeable. It is a group spanning the border of time. And as the result of… More

Arduino makes me feel desperate. :( O.M.G. He.....lp......Me....... Although the code I wrote was right, it still didn't work. TAT. Mr. Arduino Mr. Arduino!! Please tell me which part I made mistake.   Anyway, I used the MPR121 and firstly wanna touch certain thresholds to trigger the Servo Motor. For testing, I only turn on one threshold and use LED to replace the Motor. I get the code online and use Switch-Case to program. If the threshold is touched, the LED will turn on. Now, the problem is I wrote Serial.print within the Switch-Case and it could print "Kai" when I touched. But the LED can't illuminate. More

This afternoon I joined an activity held by CC. They provide two websites Post Pals and Send Kids The World to choose a kid you want to help. And on their writing guide, they have something avoid to say, like get well soon, and hope you win the battle. They mentioned although it’s well-meaning but it’s not a good phrase if your illness is never going to go away, and there are lots of children don’t know they could ‘lose their battle’, which I never consider about. I chatted with them and knew that they thought… More

Rural Urban Framework is an installation in the Design Museum which explores how nomads of Mongolia are adapting to urban life. Mongolian change their habits and their lifestyle in order to fit in the sociaty and community. The movie inside out talks about a girl Riley’s mental situation after moved to a new place. In this period, she feels incommensurate to the new environment, and miss her friends and the previous house. Every happy memory seems all connect with the community. Place attachment is the ‘bonding of people to places’. This can take two forms: functional… More

After meeting them, I got some a question – Does postcard really can help sick kids? Initially, I am just sorry about that and think they are miserable and need people’s love. But after watching this video, I am so touched. I felt so hurt when I saw the scar on Megan’s back. They and their parents totally have different lives and experience what we can imagine. From the article Sick Children in Hospital, it describes how hospital stay affect children at different ages. After two years old, basically, children will feel stressful, fear, lonely and well be lack of… More