Written by:
Sophia de Sousa
Our May Chat, Designing for Encounters, was co-hosted with Tijman Kuyper, a Dutch cohousing expert who has done some inspiring research on design enabling encounters and interactions. We were joined by a particularly international group this month, with participants from different parts of the UK, the Netherlands, the US and New Zealand, and between them representing a range of cultures, ages and interests around architecture, urban design, landscape design, co-housing, health and wellbeing. Together we took a deep dive into the importance of incidental interactions with other people, objects, environment and activities, as well as the role that our built environment can play in enabling or hampering them.
Key Themes
The title of the Chat immediately raised interesting questions about the language we use to talk about the informal interaction of people both within and with our built environment, as well as the negative connotations that many of these words have acquired. This led us to consider why this had happened, and the tension we see between regulation and people-centred design. From de-risking to control, what impact does designing moments of pause and interaction out of shared spaces have on us as people? This in turn raised more questions and reflections on what might make us linger in places rather than simply move through them, and the role that both the design and animation of spaces can play in this.
Is Lingering a Bad Thing?
We kicked off our conversation talking about the word encounter and found that this word for an unexpected meeting or experience is, more often than not, used to talk about something unpleasant. We found this interesting, and agreed that the element of surprise sometimes brought moments of joy and connection. We talked about the pleasure of bumping into people, or happening upon something in a building or space that catches your eye and curiosity.
Similarly, the word lingering, which is defined as “staying longer in a place than expected, often out of reluctance to leave” has come to be associated with antisocial behaviour in public space. But what if we stay longer than expected in a place because we are enjoying it, because someone or something has captured our attention, or activated our senses and emotions? Yet people are often actively discouraged from lingering by the design of public buildings or spaces. Design sometimes seems to place a higher value on moving people through them efficiently than in creating moments of pause and delight. One of our participants posed the question of how we might better design things that offer openings and invitations rather than discourage us.
Inevitably, we spoke about benches and how they have so often been designed out of our public spaces. A place to pause and sit has a myriad of practical uses, but it is also a mechanism for connecting with and enjoying a space, for watching the people and activities happening there, for having conversations. Moments to stop, interact and connect can help build community. Yet benches are perceived by too many as a magnet for problems. As one of our group suggested, if people are drinking or doing other activities perceived as anti-social behaviour on a bench or in any public space, the problem that is creating this situation is not the bench, but lies elsewhere.
Regulation & People-centred Design
The desire to regulate and de-risk everything, even with the best intentions, is having a profound impact on the quality of our spaces. Tijmen gave an example of new fire safety regulations in The Netherlands which are causing a stir, as many feel that they have gone too far and create a different risk, that of dehumanising buildings. It is obviously a difficult balance to strike, as we of course want to place health and safety at the heart of decision-making. The desire to create buildings and spaces that are secure by design can sometimes lead to compromising that delicate balance of form, function and feeling that good design requires. When function prevails too much over the other qualities, this can significantly compromise the community use and enjoyment of that space.
It was also noted that decision-making is increasingly informed by data and statistics, but that sometimes that data is looked at in isolation and is therefore not conducive to people-centred design. The dramatic figures regarding people suffering from loneliness and isolation, for example, are often overlooked in decision-making around safety and litigation prevention. Yet creating spaces for connection is a vital part of healthy lives. As one of our group put it, “We are social creatures and the environments we have created are trapping us.“
Infrastructure & Prompts for Interaction
It is not just about the physical buildings and spaces that we create, but also the focal points within them. One participant wondered what had happened to the chess boards in parks. Another said that she had come across a giant chess board in a park just recently, and had delighted in seeing a young child playing an intense game of chess with an older person, and people of all ages gathered round to watch. They sat on benches around the chessboard, which in turn were surrounded by hedges to create a kind of outdoor room. Sometimes, creating semi-public and semi-private spaces can help connect people.
Some other really nice examples were given. The first was the power of a bus stop to spark conversation. There is something about that space which creates both intimacy and a shared sense of purpose. Another was a story from a housing complex for older people. The managers of the building had found that the residents were not using the shared meeting room, which had a large window looking outwards towards greenery. There was a surprisingly simple solution. It turned out that a high hedge was obstructing the view from the building. Simply trimming it down transformed the common room in this building, which became a place where people regularly gathered in front of the window to watch people playing basketball below. Another participant spoke of the sense of community that can develop in a playground, where incidental or planned meetings among children, parents and grandparents, or just those who enjoy sharing that joyful space, can help forge relationships and community.
Wrapping Up
At the heart of this Chat was the recognition that we humans are social creatures, and that we need spaces to connect with each other. As we regulate our buildings and spaces, as they become more sterile and uniform, do we risk, as one participant put it, throwing the baby out with the bath water? It is often the unexpected interactions with people, activities or environments that cause us to pause, that bring us the most pleasure and that help us build community. Design has an important role to play in enabling and encouraging us to connect with the places and communities around us. Perhaps we need to give more thought to the positive side of encounters and of lingering.
Spotlight Project from Co-host Tijmen Kuyper
Tijmen recently wrote a book on how architecture can facilitate community engagement.
The book can be downloaded for free here.