How Co-design Processes Improve Public Space Resilience:: Lessons From Two Urban Parks in the Atacama Desert

With the social, ecological and sanitary pressures on urban settlements<br/>and the public sector being unable to successfully provide such answers<br/>alone, co-design can play a crucial role towards urban transformations<br/>and resilient public spaces. We understand co-design as a process in<br/>which institutional networks of public, private...

Culture and Context in Public Space Design: Symbolic ornamentation, local craftsmanship and public participation as a way to enable meaning and affordance

Rapid urbanization and increasing globalization of urban development strategies are resulting in a lack of connection between people and places, and places and their context. Nevertheless, cultural embedding and sense of place have a direct impact on the quality of public space. The purpose of this research is to explore culture and context...

Perception of privacy in a university building: The transparency paradox

Informal face-to-face communication and chance encounters encourage knowledge sharing. This Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) examines how well a new building of a Dutch University Institute (DI) supported interaction and perceived privacy among faculty members. The study is designed as a qualitative research project with in-depth interviews...

Affordances as materials potential: What design can do for materials development

Given the growing interest in “upstream” collaborative projects between designers and materials scientists, it is crucial to scrutinize designers’ creative contribution to materials development beyond “coming up with” application ideas. Overcoming this outdated preconception requires a shift away from the dominant perspective of cognitive...

The making of performativity in designing [with] smart material composites

As the material becomes active in disclosing the fullness of its capabilities, the boundaries between human and nonhuman performances are destabilized in productive practices that take their departure from materials. This paper illuminates the embodied crafting of action possibilities in material-driven design (MDD) practices with...

Use of Affordances for Efficient Robot Learning