Re/Claim is an exploration of how the urban space can be designed from the bottom up. Using what I like to call interventional objects, I have allowed the people of Lewisham to design their built environment using geometric blocks, giving agency to the users of the space. Using a simple design language and complementary colours, I designed the blocks to be visually engaging and invite interaction while being intentionally ambiguous. I didn't want to lead the user towards a particular use case or scenario, I wanted to leave it up to them. This all comes as a reaction to the increased frequency of hostile public environments in the city, actively discouraging loitering and personalisation of space. My intention with the interventional objects is to set a precedent for what public space can be; I have given these objects over to the public realm, with no strings attached, to facilitate spontaneous creativity and a sense of belonging and attachment to the city.
There is a great quote from the Isamu Noguchi, which stipulates the responsibility of the city in,
“…necessitating the kinds of public spaces that energise and empower citizenship: above all by stimulating, then helping to organise and contextualise, our sense of belonging…”
This is what I have tried to achieve with my objects. By handing complete control of them over to the public, you create an environment which allows others to express themselves creatively and feel invested in the public realm. My ultimate ambition with this project is that I can share and inspire others to do as I have, to help create a city that we can all feel a part of; to help organise and contextualise, our sense of belonging.
