2019 (Revisited 2024)
Article 25
Educational
Critical Design / Industrial Design / Public Design
It all started with my school collaborating with Nola Industries AB. The brief was to create public furnitures for Pop Up - parks. Somehow I stumbled on to researching about excluding design and how it is disabling certain groups of the society to use it as they see suitable. This made me wonder.
Who is the public space really designed for?
I told Nola and my teachers that I wanted to create a place where homeless people can find a rest. Create a product that instead of disabling taking shelter or rest, enables these actions. Including design instead of excluding. I wanted the product to be able to be used both day and night. Seating area during daytime transforms into sleeping area at night.
I got a harsh awakening when both Nola and my teachers told me that “No, we certainly can not design a place for homeless people to sleep in”.
This only grew my urge for creating this piece. I noticed this subject was connected with strong emotions and a tabu which only triggered me more.
Exluding design is the design that prohibits people to use it as they want. It can be by making a flat surface bumpy to hinder skateboarding or as seen here in the picture, adding metal pieces to the seating areas and narrowing them, making it impossible to lie down on.
During daytime, the bench offers a two sided seating area.
When folded over at night, one of the seats creates a roof, providing a shelter from rain and wind
The angled boards are cut and placed in a way that they stop the rain from getting in to the shelter.
This project is not a solution to homelessness, I know that. But it is a critical proposal designed to question the society’s way of dealing with it. The proposal aims to create a debate regarding excluding design and make people wonder about who really are allowed in to the public space.
The bench made it into the media and I got invited by Sveriges Radio to discuss the subject together with a representative from the municipality of Gävle.
I also hade the privilege to discuss the subject and present my project in TV4’s show “ Efter Fem”.
