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Project report | Cultural Interventions

Sander Cobussen | s102406

Teun van den Brand | s093683

Yannick Brouwer | s119479

Nikki Butter | s110046

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Project report | Table of Contents

Introduction 4 Introduction Document Structure 5

Project process Start Project 6

- Exploring Woensel 7 - Questionnaires 7 - Photo Tour Woensel 7 - Social Experiment 8

Welzijn Eindhoven 9 - Exploring Blixembosch 10 - Talking to the Elderly 11 - Midterm Concept 12

Midterm Exhibition 13 - Individual Concept Generation 14 - Final Concept Generation 14

Pink Pony Express 15 - Intervention 16 - Collecting Stories 17

Final Concept 18 Collaboration with China Start Project 20 Intention of Collaboration 20 Meetings 20 Concept Generation 21 Prototyping 21 User Test 22 Comparison With China 22 Teamwork Reflection 23 Appendices Appendix A | Questionnaire Woensel 24 Appendix B | Photo Tour Woensel 26 Appendix C | Social Experiment 27 Appendix D | Photos Ouverture Plaza 28 Appendix E | Individual Concepts 29 Appendix F | Arduino Code 33 Appendix G | Electric Cirquits 38

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Project Report | Introduction

“It is impossible to connect the dots looking forward, but it was very, very clear looking backwards. Believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart.” Steve Jobs , Stanford Speech, 2005

We think that this sentence from the well-known “Stanford Speech” of Steve Jobs is absolutely applicable to our project. We started with a very open briefing where we saw a lot of opportunities, and now, almost 16 weeks later we work to get everything ready for the final exhibition. In these weeks, we did a lot of different things, our dots, we went from very broad to small and back. From the beginning on we really wanted to have a structural problem where we could focus on. We didn’t want to just drop a design somewhere and wait until something happens. In cooperation with the social experts of Welzijn Eindhoven we decided to work in the neighborhood of Blixembosch, a rich neighborhood with a lot of covered problems between the youth and elderly. We went a lot out of our office because in our opinion that’s the only way you can motivate people to do the same. We collected a lot of “dots” but it took quite long before we really could connect them all in one concept. In the last two weeks, everything fell in place, the dots seemed to connect almost smoothly. In one morning we had our concept, and in the afternoon we got some very positive feedback from our coach and another team. Now two weeks later we present you our concept and process. We wish you a pleasant journey! Warm regards, Sander Cobussen, Teun van den Brand, Yannick Brouwer and Nikki Butter.

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Project Report | Introduction Document Structure

The picture above shows the structure of this report. It shows a timeline from beginning to the end. The project is divided in two parts, the part of our own, regular project, and the part ‘China’. The header China shows the process of the collaboration with Chinese students from the Zhejiang University in Hangzhou. Parallel to that is the timeline of our own project. The headers ‘start project’, ‘Welzijn Eindhoven’, “Midterm Exhibition’, ‘Pink Pony’ and ‘Final exhibition’ are major points in our process. At these moments we made important decisions. The headers between there are other steps that we took in our process, but who are less important. The two headers ‘individual concept generation’ and ‘collecting stories’ were important for both the collaboration with China and our own process.

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Final Report | Start Project

Our project started with an acquaintance with the new workspace and our new team members. We have a very mixed team; Teun and Sander are B1.2 students, Nikki did a year of Industrial Product Design in The Hague and Yannick comes straight from secondary school. We started by reading the briefing together. Briefing: Culture needs to be experienced, lived and shared. Cultural interventions are not neutral or objective. They have an impact on society. Your challenge is help questioning people’s preconceptions and prejudices, make them do things together, create bonds and, by doing so, raise new interests, create new meanings, new values. In this project you’ll become actors in the process; you’ll be part of the social structures you are designing for. You will actively discover, participate and reflect in situations. You will develop sustainable business models and design meaningful interaction points for an active dialogue and collaboration. You have to design something for the area of Woensel, Eindhoven. After the briefing we discussed about our approach: Approach: As a team we decided that we want to focus on a structural problem from the beginning instead of putting something on the street and wait until something happens. A focus on a target group and target area gives you the opportunity to involve the user in your process. We truly believe that this project can only be valuable if we have constant feedback from users and experts from outside. In that way you stay connected and inspired. Another principle that we really wanted to implement in our project was: “You cannot ask other people to open up if you, as a designer, never leave the comfort of your desk yourself.” Being constantly behind the same desk in the same context limits your creativity. If you go out of office you see your target group/place from a different perspective, which allows you to broaden your view. Kirsten van Dam, our coach has the exact same philosophy with her own company “Out Of Office”, she was the perfect coach for us in this project.

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Next steps | Exploring Woensel We started with an orientating research to specify our target group and target area. The project stated that Woensel was the place we had to target with our project. None of us was familiar with Woensel, so we went there to explore the different possibilities and cultures. We went to visit some of the different parts of Woensel to ‘taste’ the differences, and see which ones would be interesting for our project.

Next steps | Questionnaires To gather more information about the inhabitants of Woensel we conducted questionnaires. These were supposed to learn us more about how much the inhabitants are willing to get to know each other in a better or different way. We also wanted to find out what improves could be made, looking at architecture and facilities. We conducted a few questionnaires at WoensXL, a shopping center in the middle of Woensel. When looking back, this was not the best location, since it does not represent most of the inhabitants of Woensel. WoensXL attracts the more wealthy people, while Woensel contains a lot of people with a lower income. We should have conducted more interviews and collected them in different parts of Woensel to get a reliable outcome. -An example of the questionnaire can be found in appendix A-

Next steps | Photo Tour Woensel After looking at different documentaries and numbers we decided that Woensel-west was the most obvious place to focus on since it is an area with a lot of problems like poor safety, high criminality, low income and impoverished houses. To further explore this area, we did a photo tour through Woensel-west to taste the overall atmosphere, to get inspired and to find possibilities. We turned this photo tour into a mood board that we put up in the space to keep in mind what we were designing for. -A selection of photos from the tour can be found in appendix B-

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Next steps | Social Experiment

To examine how people react when shocked, we performed an user test. For this test we made a poster with the news of an escaped tiger python in the neighborhood. It says the python is very dangerous and should not be touched. The poster was put up in a street, attached to a lamppost. To capture the reactions, we filmed the poster secretly from a room across the street. On the one hand, our experiment failed, since the street was not crowded enough and the poster turned out to me too small, it did not stand out. Therefore we did not receive much reaction. On the other hand we learned something from this experiment. This is because the experiment caused discussion among coaches when presented on the university. The question raised if it is ethical correct to film people in secret. As a response to this discussion we were more careful in the rest of the project. Whenever we filmed someone, we went to ask permission to keep and use the filmed material. -The poster can be found in appendix C-

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Final Report | Welzijn Eindhoven

Welzijn Eindhoven is an institution in Woensel that takes care of the inhabitants of Eindhoven. This institution takes care of all the community centers, is available for all kinds of questions, organizes sports for elderly, helps the poor people, provides help for the youth, and they do a lot more. After doing the first few steps, we got stuck in our process. We needed a new boost of information and inspiration. To get this we have made an appointment with Eva van Gorcum, who works at Welzijn Eindhoven. Eva tells us a lot about the projects that take place in Woensel, spread over the different parts. Woensel-west is serious problem area where a lot of projects take place, but because of this it might be an overkill to start another project there. This made us doubt about our focus area. On our question if there is another interesting place to start a project, she comes up with Blixembosch. Blixembosch is a part of Woensel where a lot of rich dual-earners live. The youth there is bored and hangs around on a new built, boring, empty square. The problem is that the surrounding apartments are inhabited by elderly people, who think the youth is a nuisance. The main problem is the feeling of insecurity by the elderly. A good example is when an elderly man called the police because there was youth making drug deals on the square, but when the police arrived the drug dealers turned out to be 12 year old boys smoking a cigarette together. This does not say that the only problem lies with the elderly, the youth sometimes really causes nuisance. John Verhees joins the conversation, since he is currently setting up a new youth center at the edge of the square. He says that the main goal is taking away the experience of nuisance by the elderly and creating understanding from both sides. This conversation was really interesting because it gave us an inspiring area to focus on. It is not the obvious place and target group, and it provides clear goals to work towards.

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Next steps | Exploring Blixembosch

After our inspiring talk with John Verhees and Eva van Gorcum, we went to explore Blixembosch. We went to visit the youth center at the Ouverture Plaza (which is the youth center at the square we had been talking about with the experts). As a first step, we talked to the bartender, who told us that there was indeed a lot of friction between the youth and the elderly. This is because the majority of the elderly are living in the apartment blocks surrounding the plaza, where the youth would loiter, leave trash behind and make noise with their scooters. When we started walking around we could see that the houses in the neighbourhood were in a good state, this is because of the income of the families living in them. The income of the families were high because, in most families, both the mother and the father have a job. We could also see small hints of nuisance, such as graffiti or broken trashcans. We also noticed that the square was very big and empty. -The photos of the Ouverture Plaza can be found in appendix D-

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Next steps | Talking To The Elderly We decided to talk to the elderly who live in the surrounding apartments to learn about their side of the problem. The elderly turned out not to be the grumpy old people that the others in the neighbourhood said they were. Some elderly even told us they liked the youth better than several other seniors. The elderly told us about a lot of problems that the youth caused in the past. For example, during a new year’s eve, the youth gathered in large numbers and started to play with fireworks. Many things were vandalized, from the shop windows, to a bridge, from plant pots to a mailbox-bomb. The elderly do not approve of these actions, but they are not proud of actions of other seniors either; for example, they noticed that the snack bar employee finished his shift at 10 pm and ate a portion of chips outside the snack bar, because he did not eat yet. One grumpy senior called the police and the boy got a fine for loitering on the square after 10 pm. Another action was that a senior called the police because there was a group of young people dealing drugs on the square. When the police arrived, the drug dealers turned out to be a group of 12 year-olds smoking a cigarette. The elderly claimed they regret the actions of the persons who called the police in both cases. They suspected the lack of proper attitude of the youth is because of the lack of attention from their parents, who were often dual earners. The elderly feel that the situation could be improved by better mutual communication and respect from both sides. Out of this talk we conclude that the elderly and the youth have more problems with the way they see each other, than the actual nuisance. If we can make both sides see each other as persons, instead of a nuisance and if we can make them communicate directly towards each other, we think the friction will be a lot less. Focuspoints We now know what to focus on for the rest of the project.

- Improve communication between elderly and youth - Create understanding between elderly and youth - Let them see each other as persons, instead of an annoyance

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Next steps | Midterm Concept

We wanted to brainstorm for ideas before the midterm exhibition so we could get feedback on some immature ideas to elaborate later on in the project. Due to the extensive research period there was little time for the ideas to mature, but the basics of the ideas were present. These were some of the ideas:

- A mood-light that would shine brighter if it recently touched another person’s mood-light and slowly dim until it touched another mood-light again. The bigger the variety of people’s mood-lights it touched, the bigger the variety in colours it would show.

- An artificial tree in the middle of the square with leaves that would show a wider variety of colours if it is visited by a larger variety of people and shine brighter if it registers more laughter. When enough people gather on a regular basis, a real tree would be planted in the street, for more green in the neighbourhood.

- A still unidentified object to be put on the square with the purpose of shocking people to encourage self-reflection.

- An interactive bench that encourages people to talk to each other. - A coffee corner where people can get free coffee but only to groups of five or larger.

It is known that these ideas don’t cover the whole load of research the team has conducted, but this would be fixed later and the ideas cover the superficial scope of the project. The ideas don’t fit into the research because they often focus on one side of the problem and don’t address the core; namely the lack of understanding and communication between the two parties. A prototype was made for the midterm exhibition as an eye catcher and so the team could get feedback from coaches, fellow students and others. The feedback was important to them so they could elaborate on it later. The prototype consisted of a scale model of the Ouverture square in Blixembosch, with a trail of light leading from the square itself to an area outside the square. The idea was that when it was evening the trail would lure youth away from the area that is most sensitive to the nuisance the youth produces. Another “prototype” was made, an 3D model of the Ouverture square in which later ideas could be placed to get an understanding of the dimensions of the square and the look and feel of the still “unidentified” constructions when placed on the square.

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Final Report | Midterm Exhibition At the midterm exhibition the team had prepared a table with three posters and a prototype. The three posters contained different ideas we had on how to proceed with the case and a small summary of what the research results were. The prototype was a scale model of the Ouverture plaza embedded with a trail of LEDs that would form a pattern to lure the youth out of the plaza onto another place where they wouldn’t cause any trouble or noise pollution. On one of the posters a 3D model of the plaza was displayed with an unidentified object somewhere at the plaza. This unidentified object could be anything and at the time of the midterm exhibition it was still unclear of what this object was going to be and the goal of the team was to get as many feedback as possible on a good idea to place on the square. At the midterm exhibition we heard that in Amstelveen there was a quite similar problem; also with a square surrounded by senior apartments where youth loiters. It might be a good idea to replace the unidentified object after the intervention to other cities. The tips we got were:

- Make sure the intervention isn’t vulnerable to vandalism - Consider playfulness, like a location-based game. - Make sure a better exchange of information happens between the elderly and the youth. - Consider doing activities together with Welzijn Eindhoven. - Speculate about the possibilities of a reward system. - Present more elaborate ideas. - Elaborate on the end-user scenario

Furthermore, there was critique on the prototype; it was nicely executed but we might have chosen the wrong colour for the LEDs. Try to guide the people to the new place instead of sending them away. Consider resolving or limiting the noise pollution. How did it influence the project? After the midterm exhibition we drew conclusions based on the feedback we got and consequently created guidelines for the rest of the project. These became our guidelines:

- Show the people to each other that they are humans and not just the stereotypes they have in mind at the moment.

- Emphasize the resemblance between the generation gap. - The design has to take off in the neighbourhood, so an introduction is necessary. - We have to account the group from age 25 until 65 that it is also responsible for the youth

and the elderly. - We have to resolve the boredom at both the elderly and the youth. - We should consider contacting Natasja Froger and John Williams for the TV show “Bonje met

de Buren”. - Keep in mind the possibilities of light-architecture, light and colour combinations and special

light effects. - Try to use the time of the year, namely winter, to your advantage

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Next steps | Individual Concept Generation After the midterm exhibition we started working separately. All four of us had one week to come up with a concept, and after those weeks we would get together and compare the concepts. What was striking, was that all three of the concepts were almost the same (the ones from Yannick, Teun and Nikki), although we really worked apart. The disadvantage about this is that, when we came back together to create a final concept, we were stuck on the fact that it had to be a tent, or something from that sort. -The individual concepts can be found in appendix E-

Next steps | Final Concept Generation The final concept generation was a big struggle. The members of the team had different opinions about the direction that the concept should go in. There was some tension which had several causes. Because of this tension we could not succeed at thinking of a good concept, since we would not listen to each other properly. We got stuck in generating a good concept, sticking only to a large tent in the middle of the square. Our coach advised us to visit Pink Pony Express in Amsterdam to get some fresh ideas.

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Final Report | Pink Pony Express

The Pink Pony Express is a four person interdisciplinary team dedicated to the investigation, and visualization of social networks. Usually, these networks operate undetected, and escape traditional political and media radar. The PPE seeks out 'soft data'. Soft data is information which is too sparse, spread out and nuanced to be mapped statistically. Soft data is often overshadowed by hard data, which can be analytically useful, but often presents a too general, incomplete and sometimes negative image. The basic strategy of the Ponies is ‘research through making’, with every exploration taking material form. These forms occupy, or are brought back to the places under study. What is returned may not be immediately recognizable to the members of those communities; their work thus gives back what was never possessed in the first place. As stated before we went to visit Pink Pony Express in Amsterdam to get fresh inspiration and information. Pink Pony connects to our project because they also work with different cultures and interventions. The mentioned ‘soft data’ is something this project has a lot of. In our talk with Pink Pony, we told them about our project, why we chose Blixembosch, what our findings up until that moment were and some basic ideas we had. They were very enthusiastic about our choice for Blixembosch. When we asked them why, this is what they answered:

“I think the choice for a wealthy area is interesting because it goes against the usual assumption that cultural interventions only add something in poor areas. By letting the light shine on a normal area, you are testing a new context and at the same time you show a common contradiction between old and young.” Jessica Hammarlund Bergmann, Pink Pony Express

We asked Pink Pony to tell us about projects that they have done in the past and if they could provide us with feedback. Some useful tips we got were not to be too polite. From experience Pink Pony has learned not to sit back and wait for something to happen, but to force the people to interact. A good example was a project that Pink Pony had been doing a few weeks ago. The idea was to let people meet in a different way than usual. To do this, they had put up a white cloth on one wall. Whenever someone wanted to enter the tunnel, someone from Pink Pony would give that person a marker and tell him to draw a line on the wall while walking through the tunnel. This way he should stay in contact with the wall during his walk. But when two people enter the tunnel on both sides, they will meet somewhere. We have seen a video of this project, and there actually were some interactions in the form of people walking underneath each other in order to keep their marker to the wall. Such small interventions are a nice introduction to a final intervention, since they do not require much work, and they are also accessible for people who would not be interested in the first place.

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Next steps | Intervention

After this meeting, we had an enormous boost of inspiration. We decided to have an intervention on the Ouverture Plaza. By placing a table and start playing games, we hoped to attract random pedestrians to join us. This intervention was a test to see how much interest people had in joining in an intervention. We did not reach the exact age group we wanted to, but a lot of young people (age 6-10) joined. After a group had formed around our table, some elderly people walked towards the table to see what was going on. Also some youth walked by to see the table, but both the youth and the elderly declined our invitation to join. From this intervention we learned that a playful factor does attract people. It may not be the exact target group, but attention causes attention. When a few persons start to play, others will soon follow out of curiosity.

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Next steps | Collecting Stories

For the collaboration with China we had to collect photos and stories for the face bench. A more expanded description of the face bench can be found in the chapter about China. These are some quotes of things we heard:

“I have to admit that I prefer being amongst the youth. Their ‘joie de vivre’ gives me energy. A lot of elderly have troubles with the youth but they forget that they have been young too.” Mrs. Van Duren, inhabitant of an apartment above the square.

“My husband and I like to go and talk to the youth. When you treat youngsters with respect, they will treat you the same” Mrs. Smith, inhabitant of an apartment above the square

“The square is so big and empty, I think it is really boring. I would love to have some green on the square.” Mrs. Reijnders, inhabitant of an apartment above the square

“When my husband was dying, a group of 60 youngsters were making noise on the square. When I went down to ask them to leave, they left immediately. When you talk to them in a normal way, they are willing to listen to you.” Mrs. Van Duren, inhabitant of an apartment above the square

These quotes showed us that when the two groups talk to each other in a normal way and consider each other, the tension can be taken away.

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Final Report | Final Concept

Bloom is an interactive bench. It consists of a tree with a bench around it. The bench has 12 seats which light up when being sat on. Once seated in one seat, another seat will light up as well, and some lights may go out. The challenge is to find the right combination of seats to light up all of them. When finished, all lights will blink and then go out. Then the games starts over. How did it develop? We wanted to add green to the square with our concept, so this is what we started with. Yannick started drawing a tree with a bench around it to sit on, like a gathering place around the old oak on a French square. From here the idea started growing. We wanted to add light, and we wanted to add playfulness. This is why we chose to put the game in it. The light is esthetic which will attract the elderly, where the game is playful which will attract the youth. How does it connect to our project? The elderly will enjoy more green on the square, this comes in the form of the tree. Because the tree is planted in a pot, there is no problem with the parking lot underneath the square. The bench lights up when being sat on, so the game starts for itself. There is no need for further explanation or triggers. The fact that it is a puzzle may not be clear at the first moment, but this is a good thing since when (accidentally) solved it will blink and go out. This way the users have something to find out on their own, which will make sure the bench will stay interesting for a longer amount of time. It may not necessarily cause immediate conversation between the youth and the elderly, but in the research we have seen that both groups are willing to communicate, there is just one first step needed. Our concept is that first step to make conversation more accessible. Why the name Bloom? Bloom was chosen because we want communication and understanding between youth and the elderly to ‘bloom’ as a result of our concept.

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Prototyping

As a base for our prototype we took a flowerpot where we got the bottom out. Around that we made 3 black circles from black Perspex, which would form the base of the bench. The seats were made out of blank Perspex. The Perspex was laser cut to make sure everything would fit seamless. A base plate was made to hide the arduino. We did this using MDF. After the prototype was finished we had to put in the electronics. That was when we found out that the space was too small and that the electronics did not fit. We tried to drill holes in the black Perspex, but as expected the Perspex broke in two pieces. We decided to make a MDF circle to fit between the other circles, so the space would be bigger. This worked so the electronics could fit in. Then we found out that the buttons were too small, so we made little wooden cubes, to fit under the between the Perspex and the buttons. -The arduino code can be found in Appendix F- -The electronic circuit can be found in Appendix G- User test In order to find out what the inhabitants in Blixembosch thought of the concept, we conducted a small user test. We went to visit some of the elderly people and asked them for feedback. The concept was received positive, and we were encouraged to go to the municipality to present it. The elderly were promised green on the square years ago, but that has never been realized, so the green aspect of our concept was a good thing. The elderly said to think that the puzzle aspect in the concept would be a good conversation starter, and that they looked forward to spending time on the bench. After the user test, we handed out the portraits that we made of the elderly that had donated stories for our Chinese concept. This was widely appreciated. It is cool to see that you can make someone happy with something so simple.

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Project | China Start Project Our coach Kirsten van Dam offered us the opportunity to work together with the Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China. We seized this opportunity with both hands, because we think that this is an addition to our project. An intercultural cooperation gives us the opportunity to have a view of the cultural difference in our area of Blixembosch in a broader perspective. From the third week on we worked together with the Chinese students. In the first meeting we spoke with 12 Chinese students that were interested in the cooperation with our team. After the first meeting, the Chinese coaches selected a group of 4 students to continue in the collaboration. Intention of the collaboration In order to have a clear idea of which steps to take, we decided to use the collaboration to compare the reactions and solutions from both the Dutch and the Chinese Culture. We provided the Chinese students with all the gathered information, like pictures of the square, a description of the existing problem and a description of the parties involved. We then told the Chinese to create a concept that, in their opinion and culture, would solve the problem. After creating this concept, we want to user test the concept in both China and Holland, to compare the reactions. We think that, because the Chinese culture is a lot different from ours, the outcome might be interesting. Meetings Finding a convenient time to meet with the Chinese students was difficult since there is a time difference of seven hours. The only possible meeting time was Friday 11.00, Dutch time, which was 18.00 in Chinese time so the Chinese had to meet in their spare time. Another issue was the technical side of the communication. We could not hear each other clearly because of the poor connection. Sometimes we couldn't hear anything at all. Later on we decided to switch off the video, this improved the quality a lot. We also discovered that, in order to get everything communicated clearly, we had to give them specified tasks. “I think you guys did a very good job in the cooperation with the Chinese students. Your communication was clear and direct. This experiment worked out a lot better than last year.” Jeff Mann, member of the Realities team and leader of the experiment

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Concept generation Within the collaboration we had several ideation phases, wherein ideas were developed. One of those ideas was developed into a concept, which we and the Chinese tested in real life. During the ideation we noticed that the Chinese were very good sketchers, they made nice presentations and they were very motivated to make the project successful. The Chinese students had the idea to organize a photo workshop for the elderly and youth to photograph each other’s hobby’s or things they like to do. These pictures would later be shown at a bench on the square, for everyone to see. The bench was a little too complicated to be executed in a user test in such a short notice. Therefore the Chinese designed an armrest and a lantern which both contained photos or stories. Because they didn't think about the content of the armrest exactly, we decided to put personal stories from the elderly living around the square on them. In our opinion, these stories are the strongest aspect of the concept. It makes the reader realize that the elderly living around the square are also persons with a story and interests. We think this concept will inspire both the youth and the elderly. On one hand the elderly can read about other inhabitants of the flat who did make an effort to talk to the youth. They may be inspired by the response that the others received by doing that. On the other hand the youth will read about the lives of the elderly and realize that they have been young too, and that they are not just irritating old people. Prototyping

After having collected the photos and stories from the elderly we decided to make a high-fidelity prototype, using the laser cutter to engrave the texts and pictures into MDF plates. We were not familiar with this technique, so we called in the help of an employee of the workshop. He showed us how to create the right files, and helped us send it to the cutter. Sadly something went wrong and the images that had to be engraved failed. At this point we decided to make a wooden armrest, where we could put on laminated prints later. The armrest was shaped as a hexagon, with five different stories and one side which contained of an explanation of the prototype. In the middle of the hexagon a PVC-tube was placed so the hexagon was able to be turned, in order to read all of the stories. The PVC tube was chosen in the exact size of the spaces between the bars of the benches on the square. This made it easy to set up the prototype for the user test.

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User-test Nikki and Yannick went to the Blixembosch square on a cold Saturday to test the prototype. But since we arrived quite early and the square was almost abandoned, we first decided to visit some elderly people and show them the prototype. The first lady we spoke to was impressed by the prototype and we asked her about her expectations. She told us that she was scared that the prototype could be vandalized, but that she was very curious how the younger people would react on it. Later on we went to the square and mounted the armrest to the bench, it fitted perfectly. It was a pity that the armrest did not stand out, so only a few noticed it. After waiting for twenty minutes we decided to step up to the people and ask them to take a look at the armrest. The feedback was positive: A 40 year old couple told us that they thought that storytelling was a good way to bring people together. We asked a group of three youngsters to take a look as well, they really took the time to read the stories. After reading the stories they reacted indifferent. But we were happy that they took the time to read. Comparison with China We noticed that the Chinese culture is different from the Dutch culture, because the respect towards each other is of much greater value in China. The Dutch youth reacted indifferent, where the Chinese concept was receiving more attention.

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Teamwork | Reflection

When the project started the team members did a game to get to know each other better, this was a nice way of introducing themselves to each other. As a team, they have one big thing in common: their passion. Every member has a big drive to get the best out of the project. It was noticed that team building is very important in a good collaboration, and it really helped them to get from four individuals, to a very good functioning and creative team. At the start of the project they divided the roles in the team, with Sander as the team leader, since he is a B1.2 student. He has never done this before, and this was quite a challenge for him to keep the project on track for the full semester. In the beginning this worked well, but the B1.1 students feel that their input was a bit ignored since the B1.2 students already knew how it had to be. Their new input could have been used more. As the project proceeded, the teamwork did not go well. There were struggles since some group members had opposite ideas and were unable to listen to each other enough. Sometimes the discussions became too personal and the tone of the discussion became reproachful. The project got stuck since nobody was really working further, this was everybody’s fault. It was not always that easy to work with different minds. When the teamwork got really bad the team decided to have a good talk in another atmosphere. This talk went really well, and the teamwork improved after that. They went to a cafe somewhere in Amsterdam, and enjoyed their lunch and beverages, while talking about each other’s strong and weak points. It was a nice afternoon, and they talked and laughed a lot together, and with results! The positions around the tables have been changed, and everyone had to set next to another person to improve the collaboration between these persons. Since this meeting and this decision the teamwork went a lot better, and the project came back on track. Each one of team members was aware of his or her strong and weaker sides and worked hard to improve his or her attitude and position in the team. After this they were very motivated to make the project a success. In the last few weeks the pressure of the deadline was felt, so the team started working together very well and making very clear appointments with each other. This helped, so the teamwork actually went very well in the end. The difference is the way we want to achieve this. Everyone has their focus that they want to see in the final design, the big advantage is that the team discussed a lot about design and that nothing will take place without consultation. Sometimes this means heated discussions but in general we think that our different approaches gave our project something extra.

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Appendix A | Questionnaire Woensel

Enquete onder buurtbewoners Woensel

Leeftijd: Geslacht: Geboorteland: Hoe lang woont u al op uw huidige woonplek? Jaar Wat is/zijn de voornaamste reden(en) dat u hier destijds kwam wonen? Als u nu zou mogen kiezen, zou u dan weer hier gaan wonen? Waarom wel/niet? Kunt u enkele voordelen noemen aan uw woonomgeving? Motiveer deze. Kunt u enkele nadelen noemen aan uw woonomgeving? Motiveer deze. Heeft u veel contact met uw buurtgenoten? Waarom wel/niet? Indien er wel is ingevuld, sla de volgende twee vragen over. Heeft u behoefte aan meer contact met uw buurtgenoten? Waarom wel/niet? Indien er niet is ingevuld, sla de volgende vraag over.

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Hoe ziet u dit (zie vorige vraag) graag gebeuren? VB: aantrekkelijkere straat, meer gemeenschappelijke activiteiten, etc. Wat vind u van de voorzieningen in uw wijk? Denk aan groen, bankjes, speeltuintjes, parkjes, etc. Welke voorzieningen ziet u graag verbetert of meer? Zou een van deze voorzieningen volgens u het contact met uw buurtgenoten kunnen verbeteren? Waarom?

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Appendix B | Photo tour Woensel

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Appendix C | Social Experiment

Wij zijn onze Tijgerpython kwijt!!!

Afgelopen dinsdag middag (20-09-2011) is onze tijgerpython ontsnapt. We hebben per ongeluk het terrarium op een kier laten staan, en aangezien het raam een stukje open stond denken we dat hij naar buiten is ontsnapt. Mocht u hem tegen komen, op straat, of in uw huis: BLIJF UIT DE BUURT!! Probeer hem niet te pakken! Bel meteen naar ons nummer! Kleur: Donkergroen/bruin gevlekt met zwart. Lengte: 5 m 34 Heeft u hem gezien of gehoord dat iemand hem heeft gezien?

Bel: 06-16291487

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Appendix D | Photos Ouverture Plaza

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Appendix E | Individual Concepts

“Chapel of Light” by Teun van den Brand The chapel consists of a skeletal construction with on the insides a large number of (LED) lights, this of course in the spirit of “Eindhoven City of Light”. Free hot chocolate milk is offered so people will stay and chat under the enjoyment of a cup of chocolate, for both young and old. Whenever a conversation is started, a light of a different colour flickers over the inside of the construction. At the end of the day the chapel will not be even white but bold coloured. I have chosen for a gothic construction, because it is known for its beautiful light atmosphere and gives a Christian hint, the last of course because of the impending Christmas. The elderly will be lured to the chapel by the Christian/Christmas spirit, while hot chocolate milk will attract the youth and seduce them to stay and start conversations. The construction will work opposite of conventional gothic architecture; usually, light invades the structure through glass windows; here light is exuded through the open spaces while the skeletal construction carve dark lines into the light. By projecting the light to the outside an inviting character is created and internal cosiness is exposed.

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Appendix E | Individual Concepts “Central Meeting Point” by Sander Cobussen The plan is to make a circle with benches and lights in the middle of the plaza. There is also a control unit to put messages on a large screen on the visitors centre. People can put messages on this screen about their birthdays or weddings, and people can come together on this spot to celebrate together. If there are more people together the point will look better because of the light. The lights adapt to the amount of people, by changing the color and intensity. Elderly people can now invite youngsters to drink coffee or play a card game for example, and youngsters can invite elderly to join them when they are busy with things they like. This might attract others to join, and give both parties awareness about the things each group like to do.

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Appendix E | Individual Concepts “Public Flower” by Nikki Butter

An inflatable public space that brings comfort and warmth, a cozy place to gather in the cold and lonely winter months. On the inside there are soft and comfortable couches to sit on and the possibility to drink a free cup of hot chocolate, coffee or tea together. The ceiling is filled with little balls of light in bright colors, which will have a fairytale-like effect and set the cozy mood. On the square some projectors will be placed to light the outside of the tent. The light will be visible on the inside and contribute to a comfortable atmosphere. Because the flower is inflatable, it is easy to set up in one night. If the project is set up overnight, it will arouse curiosity the next morning. At this stage the flower will be closed. Once it gets dark, the lights will go on and the flower will open. People are welcomed in to enjoy the atmosphere and have a free drink. Once inside they will get to know each other in a different way. This flower can be a project of one or two weeks. After that, it will move to another problematic area. This way the flower will remain special. Material: Light plastic that will blow up like a balloon once filled with warm air. Entrance: Small gap at the front of the flower. Size: 4m high

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Appendix E | Individual Concepts “Spontaneous Meetings” by Yannick Brouwer

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Appendix F | Arduino Code

Code This is the code of 'Bloom'. It has been made shorter, this because a lot of the code is the same. int var = 0 ; const int buttonPin1 = 2; const int buttonPin2 = 3; const int buttonPin3 = 4; const int buttonPin4 = 5; ~~ const int buttonPin12 = 13; const int ledPin1 = 31; const int ledPin2 = 33; const int ledPin3 = 35; const int ledPin4 = 37; ~~ const int ledPin12 = 53; int buttonState1 = LOW; int buttonState2 = LOW; int buttonState3 = LOW; int buttonState4 = LOW; ~~ int buttonState12 = LOW; int ledState1 = 0; int ledState2 = 0; int ledState3 = 0; int ledState4 = 0; ~~ int ledState12 = 0; int prevButtonState1 = LOW; int prevButtonState2 = LOW; int prevButtonState3 = LOW; int prevButtonState4 = LOW; ~~ int prevButtonState12 = LOW; void setup() { pinMode(ledPin1, OUTPUT); pinMode(ledPin2, OUTPUT); pinMode(ledPin3, OUTPUT); pinMode(ledPin4, OUTPUT); ~~ pinMode(ledPin12, OUTPUT); pinMode(buttonPin1, INPUT); pinMode(buttonPin2, INPUT); pinMode(buttonPin3, INPUT); pinMode(buttonPin4, INPUT); ~~ pinMode(buttonPin12, INPUT); } void loop(){ var == 0; //Button1

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buttonState1 = digitalRead(buttonPin1); i f (prevButtonState1 == LOW && buttonState1 == HIGH) { //led 1 i f(ledState1 == 0) { digi talWrite(ledPin1, HIGH); ledState1=1; } //led 5 i f(ledState5 == 0) { digi talWrite(ledPin5, HIGH); ledState5=1; } //led 9 i f(ledState9 == 0) { digi talWrite(ledPin9, HIGH); ledState9=1; } el se { digi talWrite(ledPin1, LOW); ledState1=0; digi talWrite(ledPin5, LOW); ledState5=0; digi talWrite(ledPin9, LOW); ledState9=0; } } el se { } prevButtonState1 = buttonState1; //Button2 buttonState2 = digitalRead(buttonPin2); i f (prevButtonState2 == LOW && buttonState2 == HIGH) { //led 2 i f(ledState2 == 0) { digi talWrite(ledPin2, HIGH); ledState2=1; } //led 6 i f(ledState6 == 0) { digi talWrite(ledPin6, HIGH); ledState6=1; } //led 10 i f(ledState10 == 0) { digi talWrite(ledPin10, HIGH); ledState10=1; }

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el se { digi talWrite(ledPin2, LOW); ledState2=0; digi talWrite(ledPin6, LOW); ledState6=0; digi talWrite(ledPin10, LOW); ledState10=0; } } el se { } prevButtonState2 = buttonState2; //Button 3 buttonState3 = digitalRead(buttonPin3); i f (prevButtonState3 == LOW && buttonState3 == HIGH) { //led 3 i f(ledState3 == 0) { digi talWrite(ledPin3, HIGH); ledState3=1; } //led 7 i f(ledState7 == 0) { digi talWrite(ledPin7, HIGH); ledState7=1; } //led 11 i f(ledState11 == 0) { digi talWrite(ledPin11, HIGH); ledState11=1; } el se { digi talWrite(ledPin3, LOW); ledState3=0; digi talWrite(ledPin7, LOW); ledState7=0; digi talWrite(ledPin11, LOW); ledState11=0; } } el se { } prevButtonState3 = buttonState3; ~~ //Button 12 buttonState12 = digitalRead(buttonPin12); i f (prevButtonState12 == LOW && buttonState12 == HIGH) {

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//led 2 i f(ledState2 == 0) { digi talWrite(ledPin2, HIGH); ledState2=1; } //led 6 i f(ledState6 == 0) { digi talWrite(ledPin6, HIGH); ledState6=1; } //led 10 i f(ledState10 == 0) { digi talWrite(ledPin10, HIGH); ledState10=1; } //led 12 i f(ledState12 == 0) { digi talWrite(ledPin12, HIGH); ledState12=1; } el se { digi talWrite(ledPin2, LOW); ledState2=0; digi talWrite(ledPin6, LOW); ledState6=0; digi talWrite(ledPin10, LOW); ledState10=0; digi talWrite(ledPin12, LOW); ledState12=0; } } el se { } prevButtonState12 = buttonState12; //'you won' pattern whi le(ledState1 == 1 && ledState2 == 1 && ledState3 == 1 && ledState4 == 1 && ledState5 == 1 && ledState6 == 1 && ledState7 == 1 && ledState8 == 1 && ledState9 == 1 && ledState10 == 1 && ledState11 == 1 && ledState12 == 1 && var < 1) { digitalWrite(ledPin1, LOW); digitalWrite(ledPin2, LOW); digitalWrite(ledPin3, LOW); digitalWrite(ledPin4, LOW); digitalWrite(ledPin5, LOW); digitalWrite(ledPin6, LOW); digitalWrite(ledPin7, LOW); digitalWrite(ledPin8, LOW); digitalWrite(ledPin9, LOW); digitalWrite(ledPin10, LOW);

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digitalWrite(ledPin11, LOW); digitalWrite(ledPin12, LOW); digitalWrite(ledPin1, HIGH); delay(200); digitalWrite(ledPin2, HIGH); digitalWrite(ledPin1, LOW); delay(200); digitalWrite(ledPin3, HIGH); digitalWrite(ledPin2, LOW); delay(200); digitalWrite(ledPin4, HIGH); digitalWrite(ledPin3, LOW); delay(200); digitalWrite(ledPin5, HIGH); digitalWrite(ledPin4, LOW); delay(200); digitalWrite(ledPin6, HIGH); digitalWrite(ledPin5, LOW); delay(200); digitalWrite(ledPin7, HIGH); digitalWrite(ledPin6, LOW); delay(200); digitalWrite(ledPin8, HIGH); digitalWrite(ledPin7, LOW); delay(200); digitalWrite(ledPin9, HIGH); digitalWrite(ledPin8, LOW); delay(200); digitalWrite(ledPin10, HIGH); digitalWrite(ledPin9, LOW); delay(200); digitalWrite(ledPin11, HIGH); digitalWrite(ledPin10, LOW); delay(200); digitalWrite(ledPin12, HIGH); digitalWrite(ledPin11, LOW); delay(200); digitalWrite(ledPin12, LOW); var ++; } }

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Appendix G | Electrical circuits In the following two schematics show the electrical circuit of the 'Bloom' concept.

This circuit was connected to Arduino MEGA (2560) In the circuit above you can see that the buttons use a common ground, and a common +, to prevent short circuits a pull-down resistor is used. This resistor makes sure that the current that flows between the + and the ground is limited. The value of this resistor is not very important, as long as it is high enough to limit the current enough. The resistor that is used in this circuit has a value of 10kΩ In the circuit above are only two of the twelve buttons shown, the other ten are connected in the same way. They all have a common + and ground, but they are connected through the pins between 2 and 13.

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The schematic above shows how the LED's are connected to the Arduino. Just like the buttons, all of the LED's share a common ground. Because Arduino boards have an output value of 5V, the LED's need a resistor. The value of these resistors is calculated with the following formula: R = (U+ - Uled) / I With U+ as Arduino's output value, and I is the maximum current that flows trough the LED. This current was given: 20mA. Not all of the LED's were the same, the orange were 2.2V and the blue and green were 3.2V. Because the lights should not be to bright, a higher resistance value was chosen. For the green and blue LED's: For the orange LED's R = (5V – 3.2V) / 0.02A R = (5V – 2.2V) / 0.02A R = 90Ω R = 140Ω Because the lights should not be to bright, a higher resistance value was chosen. The resistor that is used in the circuit is 220Ω In the circuit above are only two of the twelve LED's shown, the other ten are connected in the same way. They all have a common ground, but they are connected through the uneven pins between 31 and 53.