In Conversation

Fig: 1 - Since ancient times making, sharing and narrating stories have enabled humans to come so far.

STORIES, A MEDIUM OF HUMAN CONNECTION

Humans have had a long tryst with stories. Since time immemorial we have been curating, narrating and listening to stories. These stories not only speak about the imaginations of individuals, but they are also an important reflection on society and the political atmosphere of the times they come from. 

More often than not stories reflect the community they originate from. They borrow from experiences and intertwine them with imagination to excite and enthral audiences. Stories and the act of their sharing are also potent means to encourage community relationships and sharing important discourse about community concerns

Every human has a story to tell, yet as we move into increasingly dense urban spheres and are buried under the overwhelming global influence of technology, we tend to lose sight of these human stories.  

What if we could curate these stories and share them in our urban environments?

Fig: 2 - Urban lifestyle has muted natural conservations within human communities (Credits-Valentina Vega)

THE URBAN STORY

In the past decade an increasing number of individuals have migrated to urban environments in pursuit of better economic and lifestyle opportunities. Intriguingly, despite this dense concentration of population, cities are characterised by fragmented communities more often than not as a direct consequence of our urban lifestyles.

Obviously, as we connect less we form and share fewer stories, and the stories we do encounter are often limited to digital platforms.   
Yet stories are an important part of our communities and cultures and each of us do need community interaction and platforms to engage and share that goes beyond the digital world.

In the real world often the only witness to a lot of these stories is the city itself- the silent observer ever-present. 
Since humans are growing more distant,

What if we could design ways that the city could step up and act as the bridge that helps us share and connect? 

Fig: 3 - How will the streets of Tokyo transform with your proposed design intervention? (Credits-Google maps)

DESIGN AN INSTALLATION FOR CONVERSATIONS

Research indicates that an unfortunate and growing consequence of our urban environments is loneliness, that is only further intensified by the boom of social media and technology. If we are to create opportunities to reconnect in the analogue world we must create opportunities to share and engage with the multitude of stories that characterise our urban environments.
 
Since the city is often a silent witness to our human stories it may be valuable to consider how we can use it to create opportunities to curate stories and share them. 

The challenge here is to create an installation that can be implemented in cities where individuals can share and hear stories. 

The installation should ideally act as not just a storyteller but also as a listener. The design should also be replicable across the city. The different components can act as a network or independently.   

OBJECTIVES

• Form: Imagine the form that this urban storyteller would emerge as.
• Engage: How does the design engage urban dwellers in an attempt to draw them in
• Curate: How does the design listen and curate the stories of people that interact with it
• Share: How does the design further share the stories it curates in its urban setting.

SITE

Location: Minato city, Tokyo

Coordinates: Maps

As many cities across the world are witnessing increasingly distant populations with weak or negligible community interaction, governments and policymakers across the world are increasingly drawing their attention to urban loneliness. 

One of the countries that are increasingly witnessing the effects of this urban loneliness, and are attempting to find solutions is Japan. As a result, the site for this project is Tokyo, Japan. 

The busy capital city of Japan is a mesmerising space where both the ultra-modern and traditional co-exist. It also houses about 92.7 Lakh individuals (UN 2015) in a land area that measures a total of 2194 sq km. 

Design the installation in an area of 67.9 sqm. Design so that the module can be replicated wherever needed. The designed installation is to be such that it can be replicated on any street of Tokyo but must not be an imposing architectural structure. An average Tokyo sidewalk measures about 5m in breadth.