Cities are a truly complex combination of many people, and we all see and want different things in the places in which we live. From the Mayor to an architect, from a lawyer to a musician, from a parent to a child – every point of view is valuable and listening to these views are critical to the formation of great urban places. The Institute without Boundaries exhibit at the Interior Design Show, Toronto (5th-9th February) celebrates this by highlighting diverse perspectives on how different people see streets and neighbourhoods. Views range from the perceptive “I notice how no one seems to know each other on my street,” to the funny “I see no hotdog vendors!”
The Institute without Boundaries is a unique academic, research and development program focused on interdisciplinary, collaborative design practice with the objectives of social, ecological and economic innovation through design research and strategy. Massive Change: The Future of Global Design, was the Institute’s first project, led by Bruce Mau Design, and this year, the theme of the World House Project centres on neighbourhoods. Through the Interior Design Show and a semester-long project in partnership with Evergreen and Habitat for Humanity Canada, the students plan to prove that collaborative design is the key to balanced, healthy neighbourhoods. As a metaphor for collaborative design the IDS exhibit invites visitors to contribute their own piece of the “puzzle” by placing cubes in the wall and asks them to write down their own views of ‘how they see the street’.
The exhibit reflects the collaborative process of a unique interdisciplinary design team that includes 8 designers from the realms of graphic design, architecture, urban planning, engineering and fashion design. To contribute to their ongoing research, you too can add your own answer to the question - “What do YOU notice/see/or experience on your street?”. Leave your answers as comments or email to yen@worldhouse.ca.
What do I see? “I see many parts of the city and the amazing potential of it all”.
