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

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

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

From the talk by Stacey Sutton, she made me think about the difference between revitalization and gentrification because revitalization also mentioned on the E&C regeneration plan. But from the confusion of the community, it seems more like a gentrification, because Sutton refers to revitalization as the rebuilding of a community from the bottom up, in which the community still remains affordable for low-income families. Gentrification, either purposefully or accidentally, inflates the cost of living and drives a disproportionate amount of minorities from their homes. Yes, when the upper middle class moves in an area, it may create a better… More

I try to search the word “neo-nomad” online and it really exists. lol “Traditional Nomad: a member of a people or tribe that has no permanent abode but moves about from place to place, usually seasonally and often following a traditional route or circuit according to the state of the pasturage or food supply. Neo-Nomad: the nomad of our contemporary global world, whose behaviors are similar to the traditional nomad in that he has no permanent abode and moves from place to place, usually following economical reasons, or due to constraints [political,… More

Our aim is to create a new town centre for Elephant and Castle and to maintain the buzz which characterises this central London location. This new destination will have excellent transport links, first class shopping, new homes to rent, enhanced public spaces and cultural offerings, alongside a new cutting-edge campus for UAL’s London College of Communication. From the regeneration proposal, there will be more living space in elephant and castle and more recreation facilities as well. It seems like a good change, but there are some negative feedbacks online shows not everyone is expecting this rebuilding. During… More

From the campaign by Latino American in E&C, I knew that E&C is recognised as their home by most of Latino American. In the 1990s, this area was affected by economic crisis, Latinos were willing to contribute it at this moment. With construction and contribution for this area, they think they belong to this area and feel more close to their homeland. Although some people have moved out from E&C area, they still will come to here for food or just meet up friends. “Shopping center is a social place for people to find friends, products, or… More

Today, Stefanie and I strolled in and around the E&C shopping center. The first floor is busy and alive, but on the second floor is quite quiet and empty relatively. I guess maybe the administrators are hard to find people to hire the spare space or they reject to rent these space because of the shopping center will be rebuilt soon, Actually, we can see that the shopping center is an important landmark in Elephant and Castle. It connects with the tube station, every passenger may have a relationship with the center or just go through it. Also, there… More