Recipes for Stockwell

Project Leads: Gail Ramster, Carmel Keren and Jak Spencer

Number of participants: 18

Duration: 5 days

Project Outline:This design challenge, run by the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design (HHCD), offers students the chance to work with a live research project: Our Stockwell, tackling childhood obesity through inclusive design.In Our Stockwell, HHCD is co-designing with the local community (residents young and old, businesses, organisations) around the Stockwell Estate to create design interventions that have a positive effect on people’s lives, within the context of health and wellbeing of young people.Through in-depth local engagement, Our Stockwell has identified four themes relevant to the challenge of children and teenagers living healthy, actives lives in Stockwell. These are ‘Boredom’, ‘Safety’, ‘Cultural Differences’ and ‘Community Hub’.‘Recipes for Stockwell’ will introduce RCA students to inclusive design and the design research methods of HHCD, and put that into practice through on-site group work, developing concepts and prototyping ideas with the community in Stockwell, in response to briefs identified by the research for Our Stockwell and the four themes above.

Timetable:

Day 1
Introductory talks from HHCD: inclusive design, design research methods, design ethnography.
Introduction of four design briefs and formation of groups.
Visit to Stockwell Estate, with walking tour led by local architect Walter Menteth, featuring introduction to the Our Stockwell project and the public engagement activities, insights and findings so far.

Day 2
‘Discover’ day
AM: Introduction from local residents/groups with relation to each brief.
PM: Community engagement and insight gathering on-site with Stockwell Estate community.

Day 3
‘Define’ day
Groups continue community engagement, reflect on insight gathering, refine brief, ideas generation.
Lunchtime talk on designing with communities from Ambrose Gillick, co-founder of Baxendale Studio.

Day 4
‘Develop’ day
Refining concepts, Prototyping on-site of design interventions, collecting user feedback from community.

Day 5
‘Deliver’ day’
AM: Complete prototyping activities of design interventions.
PM: On-site exhibition/presentation of project work to rest of groups, invited community members and panel. Drinks!