Grand Park Detour:
Collaborative Engagements
OVERVIEW
Detour was a group project that explored Downtown Los Angeles and focused on Grand Park. In particular, we found the pink furniture interesting due to the way people used it, didn't use it, and what that might represent.
In collaboration with: Karina Hernandez, So-Hee Woo, Yunying Huang, Miranda Jin, Nidhi Singh, Tianlu Tang, Olivia Yang
Grand Park Detour from David Chan on Vimeo.
PROCESS
A large part of my contribution to this project was interviewing park patrons and distilling these findings to share with the group. Below are some of the key quotes from these interviews (click them to view):
Our research showed led us to the park furniture. It was unique in that it could be moved and rearranged anywhere. The bright pink color was also something that stood out. We realized that these chairs may be intended for everyone but there is a barrier as the chairs are being locked up at night. This action excludes different community members. We followed the thread of intention of the park vs. use of the park.
For the making portion of the project we recreated the pink chairs. Following in the originals footsteps we made them welcoming, playful, not stationary. We wanted to illustrate how you can find privacy and peace in a place that was intended to be a social venue. In the presentation video at the top of the page you follow two park patrons as they show different ways in which you may customize your park experience. The park audio recording audible in the background changes as their positions change. Further, a map was projected as a backdrop. This map was a conceptual interpretation of the Grand Park map.
REFLECTION
In this project we zoomed in on the furniture but only touched the surface of what next steps might be. Examples of questions we posed for further investigation include:
-How is the balance of private and public space maintained in the park?
-How does the park incentivize the community to reinvest back into the park?
-How does the park changes during events?
-How does the park changes at night? ( safety, accessibility, as a temporary home)
-What is its potential use as a political venue ( Protests, meetings, etc.)
MATERIALS AND TOOLS
Zoom audio recorder
Garage Band
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe After Effects
Arduino UNO
Pressure Sensor
Photo Sensor
Ikea Chairs
Carpet squares
Google Drive (collaboration)
PROJECT
Detour
PROJECT BRIEF
Your task is to engage with and represent the particular, the local, the intimate, the small. Design a collection of media to articulate your insights and questions from your engagement in a Los Angeles neighborhood. This media should form the basis for a discussion about community in the neighborhoods of Los Angeles - discovered through your field work, reflection and analysis, in tandem with the process of designing your media. The presentation should not be conclusive, but instead be questioning, open-ended and provocative. See your analysis, making and presentation as the foundation for a design process, rather than as a conclusion.
INSTRUCTORS
Phil van Allen
Sean Donahue