MOBY Visit

Thursday afternoon, I visited the community garden MOBY (My Own Back Yard), originally started by ECU ID graduate Jason few years ago. The community garden is located on 11th and commercial, with approximately 30 plots, and 5 accessible plots for seniors, people with disability, pregnant women, and etc.

Tina, was generous and extremely helpful. :) I was very fortunate to get her feedback and suggestions on my research and design directions. She mentioned, as an urban gardener, the reasons for self food production are much more than simply reducing food cost, but rather, to regain the connection with nature, the pleasure and gratification of being self-sufficient.

People don't seem to know where their food come from anymore. We take food for granted. We choose to ignore, and neglect the process which it takes from farm land to get to our dinner plate.

This makes me re-think about my project. Providing a design solution that enables urban agriculture is NOT enough.. it takes a lot more for people to change their behaviours than simply presenting them what's possible. I want to be able to communicate the gratification, the satisfaction, and the pride which urban gardeners like Tina value, to people that have yet to decide to participate in such activities.

Lately I've been focusing on developing my Project Design Brief, which will be uploaded in the next post. This is a milestone, marking the crossing from our analytical phase, to the chaotic, yet innovative stage.. :)

1st Hand Research Study Report & Project Focus

This week's class included a 5-minute presentation from each student on research study results and project directions. It's pretty damn exciting to see all the different research methods incorporated. The probing method was contradictory in terms of purpose and focus, but fascinating in terms of feedback and responses of the users.

My 1st Hand Research Study Report can be found HERE.


The following 2 weeks will be dedicated for information analysis and data organizations, in order to put together the Design Brief. I still need to figure out a clear and effective way to present my data in a measurable presentation. Perhaps a graph, or a diagram would be useful.

After meeting with my instructor, Tom Bechor, I started to re-think about my project. Tom mentioned, it's critical to define the THEME, FOCUS, and MEDIUM of my project. By determining the differences and the definitions of each, the design criteria and my approach will be clear. What is my theme? it can be well-being.. gardening.. food production.. or even sustainability. Maybe, gardening in a limited space is ONLY the medium of my project, in order to communicate my theme of well-being. However I define it, will definitely determine how I approach this project. Honestly, this is the first time since I started this project, that I'm starting to think that the final solution can go WAY beyond balconies, patios, or window counters.. maybe, it can even be an installation piece? a performance?

Strathcona Community Garden Visit

On Sunday morning, me and Jhon visited the Strathcona Community Garden in downtown for some documentation and a short interview with the General Coordinator Mark.

Luckily, it was the monthly work party day for the community garden, so a lot of people came out to work on the space for some harvest/cleaning. We were both very amazed to see something like this to be promoted and practiced by a collective community.

During the interview, Mark explained a little a bit about the organization and history of the garden, the commitment expected of each participant, and also gave some general tips on designing for gardening spaces. The community garden was divided into different sections - individual lots, herb garden, compost area, espaliers, and the fruit trees area.

It's my first time visiting a community garden, I must say, I find the garden space and the work that has been put in over all these years truly admirable and inspiring. It's very reassuring to see people in the local community participating in such activities. This validates our concepts, and the growing demand of design developments dedicated for such users. It is up to us now to come up with ideations and concepts for higher convenience, better organizations, and more suitable solutions to integrate with users' own living spaces.

My Own Little Green

For the purpose of research, I've decided to approach my 1st hand research process as a potential user. While planning my interviews and focus group session with participants in different fields of expertise, I also want to put myself in the position of the user, and experience possible concerns, and difficulties included in the activity of gardening.

I went to the market, and got myself a Little Green- a small pot of Basil plant.
My LG was initially plotted by the NHS industries in Langley, and brought to Vancouver for sale and distribution. By doing so, I also met Beverly, a nice lady who sold me my LG, who was extremely generous and helpful. She was nice enough to put up with my non-stop questioning. She agreed to participate as a professional consultant throughout the project. This is something really unexpected, yet extremely valuable and appreciated.

Even with just one small pot of basil, a serious amount of work is still required to ensure proper growth. I have no previous experience of gardening, other than growing red beans on cotton beds back in elementary. Over the next couple weeks, I will have to feed my LG with compost, separate bunches for more root space, and continue my regular watering schedule.
Hopefully, this little pot of basil, will give me tons of first hand experience, and continue to grow happily and beautifully.

Pod Collaboration & Project Proposal

:)

Part of the project planning phase, is using PODS to collaborate with other students who might be working in similar fields of interest. One of my very inspiring peers, Jhon Mozo, happens to be working on urban agriculture for low-income community, so the two of us will be working together in the research phase to gather info and share data.

I've developed a much detailed project proposal over the last week.
The following is a summary of the written content in the proposal.

PROJECT PROPOSAL - A LITTLE GREEN

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Opportunity

As our society advances rapidly in telecommunications, transportations, and technological developments; we celebrate the urban lifestyle for its convenience, comfort, and diversity. However, more than often, we find ourselves cornered by the negative traits of this way of life. The hectic work schedule, pricy living demands, and cramped living quarters greatly affect the quality of lifestyle, causing desperate need for serenity, relaxation, and re-connection with nature.

As people become aware of their quality of living, efforts on improving health, living environments, and mental state slowly become more crucial and valuable. More and more individuals become conscious of global concerns of sustainability, and availability of local food production. Due to existing restrictions of living spaces, one often compensates lifestyle with limited availability and resources. Therefore, the design opportunity of developing a suitable and practical solution dedicated to fulfill such need is surfaced.

1.2 Personal Relation

Being an urban resident myself, I encounter problematic issues such as lack of functional space, isolation from nature, inability to practice urban gardening, and limited decoration options. These factors ultim¬ately affect the quality of my lifestyle, and also significantly limit my ability to customize my living space. This in turn brings about my idea of creating the opportunity for individuals to customize space with modular “green design.”

The graduation project stands as a representation of my learning over the years in design. It represents a statement of my intentions and future focus as a designer. I want to make use of this opportunity to address my personal and global concern of sustainability by introducing a practical and suitable design solution.

1.3 Philosophy

As the issue of sustainability becomes progressively critical, we as participants in one of the leading economic communities must embody such principle by actively participating in the change of our lifestyle. This urban green unit strives to address a global concern, while suggesting an appropriate solution to suit the needs of the market. Such designs may utilize the ability to improve air quality, offer opportunity for food production, as well as to provide a sense of nature in urban environments. At a time when consumerism dominates our culture and lifestyle, such design promotes versatility, possibility of customization, and global awareness.

2.0 GOALS & OBJECTIVES

2.1 Goal To improve the quality of urban lifestyle and living environments by providing the opportunity to integrate modular agriculture units

2.2 Objectives

a). To acquire a thorough understanding of target users’ lifestyles, needs, behaviours, preferences, and environmental restrictions.

b). To introduce plantation units maximizing space efficiency and modularity

2.3 Educational Goal

To perform as a professional industrial designer in aspects of self-discipline,
collaborations with others, and independent explorations

2.4 Educational Objectives

a). To develop independence and self-discipline in time management
b). To customize a relevant and thorough research plan
c). To collaborate with professionals in agrology, gardening, and interior design for technical consultations and research development
d). To improve technical skills for idea visualizations, such as sketching ability,
prototyping, computer modeling, and graphic presentation

2.4 Assumptions

a).The public IS becoming more conscious of the issue of sustainability.
b). Assuming a modular unit for urban plantations will bring awareness and
opportunity to engage in urban agriculture.

3.0 SCOPE

3.1 Project scope

The project explores issues from why such design is needed, to how, and what needs to be implanted. The project examines topics such as material studies, idea explorations, product usability, and market research. More specifically, in-depth research will be conducted on focuses such as modular form explorations, interior space integration, sustainable material options, methods of plantations, user behaviours, and development in simple water collection system. It will also contain research in types of suitable plantations for urban agriculture for the benefit of users’ knowledge. Excluding In-depth research on the use of fertilizers, composting methods, use of mechanical elements

3.2 The problem space

People who embody urban lifestyles come across limitations in space and time to implement agriculture in living environments. Their reluctance is often based on misconception of agriculture as time consuming, messy, and complicated. My initial research focuses on validation of the need for urban agriculture in the local community. I have conducted short interviews and discussions with urban residents regarding plantations and food productions in their living spaces. Also, I have visited local community gardens to observe current and upcoming activities in place.

3.3 Collaborators

Rob Barton (Architect, urban resident, green space lover)
Ward Teulon (Agrologist, Founder of CityFarmBoy)
Kirstie McCallum (urban resident, experienced gardener)

3.4 Organizational Collaboration

City Farm Boy (Local community designs & builds urban vegetable gardens)


4.0 Process

a). To develop a realistic and effective work plan with specific time frames
b). Acquire a thorough understanding of target users’ lifestyles, needs,
behaviours, preferences, and environmental restrictions.
c). To conduct a thorough market research plan on current design precedents,
material selections, and types of plantations applicable for such design
d). Research and acquire understanding of suitable environmental factors for
urban agriculture, including types of plantations, temperature, water
requirements, sun exposure, and etc.
e). To collaborate with professionals in agrology, gardening, and interior
design for technical consultations and research development
f). Development of modular unit based on ideations and research
g). Integration and development of a suitable water collection system
h). Employ prototyping to visualize and to evaluate design concept
i ). Improve design concepts by integrating findings of prototyping stage
j ). Finalize design concept and material selection