Do you want, as a student, to contribute to the design of public spaces that invite residents to meet? And would you like to collaborate with students from various fields of study? And maybe win a prize of € 100? Register now for this challenge!
(this text is also available in Dutch)
Public space is the perfect place to play, move and to meet. This applies to the city center with all its shops and restaurants, as well as to residential areas. Public spaces are important here, especially for families and older people who are more involved than others in their immediate living environment.
This is becoming increasingly important, in the neighborhood ‘Tanthof’ in Delft. But how can we make the public space more attractive for all the different inhabitants? Students are asked to contribute ideas here.
Assignment
Questions that arise include: which routes to facilities – such as the shopping center or public transport – or walking routes through the neighborhood, can be recognized and reinforced, or designed? And how can ‘stops’ be placed on these routes where people can rest for a while? ‘Stops’ that offer the opportunity to have a chat, casual, without obligation. The importance of such stops has been shown by research: the more causal encounters people have in a neighborhood, the more they feel safe and at home.
This leads to the following design assignments:
– Strengthening existing routes
– Designing new routes
– Designating places for ‘stops’
– Designing ‘stops’ that invite residents to have a casual chat
Method
A design competition – a challenge – is organized around these assignments. Students from various study programs can register. They will be divided into multidisciplinary teams that will make a design for an existing or a new route, and for ‘stops’.
The challenge is a two-day event. On Friday afternoon we start with a neighborhood walk and an inspiring lecture about the usefulness and the qualities of good ‘stop’. On Saturday, the teams can work on their designs.
A few weeks after the challenge, the teams are asked to give a presentation to a jury (and other interested parties) on a public event. The teams with the best design/idea – selected by a jury – will win a nice price. The winners will each receive a gift voucher of € 100 (second place € 50 per person and the third place € 25 per person). The jury consists of: Tako Postma (city architect), Netty Jongepier (resident and member of ASD) and Maurice Harteveld (researcher at TU Delft).
Date and place
The challenge will take place on Friday afternoon, February 11, 2022 (3pm-8pm) in Tanthof (Fuutlaan 166) and Saturday, February 12, 2022 (8:30am-9pm) in the Loft Studio (CableDistrict). On March 2nd (8pm-10pm) a public meeting is organized – in co-operation with Delft Design – in which each group can pitch its idea to the jury and other interested parties.
Why join?
Apart from the gift voucher, you will learn more about how the spatial and other qualities of the built environment can play a role in casual encounters. The workshop is supported by researchers and teachers who have extensive experience in designing public space. And there will be an inspirational lecture by an expert.
By participating, you also explore your own limits, because you come into contact with other professional disciplines and areas of knowledge. You not only broaden your knowledge, but also your network. You will also learn more about collaboration, project-based working and problem-solving. You gain experience in advising and presenting. And you will receive a certificate for participation, which you can put on your CV, so that you can distinguish yourself from the competition in the labor market.
Register
You register as an individual. Subsequently, multidisciplinary teams are created. In the team composition, the aim is to mix study programs and educational institutions as much as possible. The language of instruction is English. If desired, we can make a Dutch-speaking group.
The condition for participation is that you are a student of a study program at TU Delft, The Hague University of Applied Sciences or Inholland University of Applied Sciences (with at least one year of higher education). Knowledge of, and passion for, spatial issues is useful (think of urbanism, architecture, landscape or industrial design), but there is also room for students from other disciplines. After all, it is not just about design, but also about use (social work, sociology). In other words: input from all study programs is welcome. We are looking for innovative ideas and like to think out-of-the-box!
You can register by filling in the form below. After registration, a selection will be made based on sign up date, motivation, experience and education (we strive for a good mix). Be quick, because places are limited.
Organization
The challenge is organized by a collaboration between the City Deal Kennis Maken Delft, study association POLIS, architect Flip Krabbendam and Delft Design. The research is part of the living lab ‘urban aging’: a multi-year collaboration between knowledge institutions, residents, the municipality of Delft and various social organizations in the field of housing, welfare and care. Lecturers, researchers and students of The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Inholland University of Applied Sciences and Delft University of Technology are asked for help in this regard, in order to gain more insight and to offer solutions for the issue of aging.
Questions? Send an email to cdkmdelft@hhs.nl
(this text is also available in Dutch)
Photos: Gerben Helleman
Studentenonderzoek in Delft 