This What if Lab focuses on public spaces in Kampung Kunir, a neighbourhood in Jakarta; a populous city with relatively little freely accessible public space. These spaces are crucial to the well-being of citizens since they provide people with space to meet, recreate, play and practice sports. The increasing urbanisation impacts not only public space but also presents societal challenges regarding climate, the responsible use of available materials, and the need for more sustainable solutions. Therefore, the designers will create a concept that promotes the use of biobased and reused materials, co-designed with residents to meet local demand.
el KANTOOR is an architecture office led by Isabel Driessen and Andrés López that approaches design and research from the user based perspective. Its work scope includes different scale projects varying from furniture, interior, architecture to urban planning. They invite people of any age and background to think, design and build along in their projects by integrating workshops, conversations and model building in the process of design. An example of their co-designed projects is Tarwewijk BinnensteBuiten; a design study in which a traffic road is transformed into a meeting place and connector for the neighborhood by residents’ initiative. Another project, Hutong Summit, consists of 5 different modules of street furniture that could be combined and used according to the user’s interpretation.
“I am looking forward to exchanging knowledge with the self organized communities in Kampung Kunir in Jakarta and bring this experience back to the Tarwewijk in Rotterdam, where I am currently working with my neighbours to redesign our public space.” – Isabel Driessen
Pim van Baarsen believes in design as a mindset and a tool, and that any design should take its impact on both who and what into account. He spent the last 15 years co-creating environmentally and socially sustainable solutions to today’s and future challenges. His projects focus on using local materials and techniques, which makes local production easier, and cheaper, and reduces the environmental burden of imports.
“This What if lab sets the stage to bring the right people together to come up with new public space solutions for Jakarta residents. I’m most excited by working with an amazing team of designers, exchanging knowledge and skills and helping to reset the relationship Jakarta’s residents have with the local landscape.” – Pim van Baarsen
ōd architecture studio is a design studio that aims to foster a conscious dialogue among material, spatial, social, and environmental contexts. The studio merges Gosha Muhammad’s expertise in research and computational skills with Eki Achmad Rujai’s practical experience and local knowledge. Projects include Arunika Waldorf School which emerged as a result of a collective community effort, and Mycosphere, a proposal for a shell structure pavilion made of mycelium.
“We see the question of co-creating a sustainable public space as a challenging yet exciting opportunity to be explored. We want to design biobased or repurposed material that is durable enough to be used in public space while simultaneously generating a system of modular plug-in playgrounds that can be easily constructed in various locations.” – Gosha Muhammad
Anastasia Dinda’s work aims to spark children’s love of nature through biophilic designs and research. Through collaborating with various fields, she sets a solid foundation for creating educational toys and design guides. Examples are Amame; a plant pet toy designed to trigger familiarity and stimulate the act of care from children, and Favere; a handheld exploration kit to help children actively explore plants growing around them.
“As someone who grew up in Jakarta, this lab’s mission of co-creating sustainable public spaces for urban communities really resonates with me. I’m eager to learn from my fellow teammates and contribute my own expertise from researching the intersection between design, nature, and children. Let’s design sustainable public spaces with the residents of Kampung Kunir!” – Anastasia Dinda
With a decade of experience solving creative challenges, Iqra Firdausy develops a passion for social and community-oriented design through cross-sector collaboration in the design field of the built-environment. With his project Street Food Cart: Microlab of Social Inclusion”, he aims to improve design accessibility for street food sellers through a co-design approach. His project Tekatekikota is an urban treasure hunt experience that helps users engage actively with public spaces and pay closer attention to the social changes around them.
“The potential to collectively reinvent and reimagine public spaces as the heart of every community, while meeting like-minded people, gaining knowledge, and further developing my studio, made me eager to join What if Lab: sustainable public spaces. I’m hoping for collaborative processes that are not just about finding solutions, but also empower the identities that define a place and facilitate ongoing developments within the community.” – Iqra Firdausy
