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| A fire doen't only warm-up the people, but also relations (thanks to ateliermob for the picture) |
Just before
the weekend I started a three day workshop. It was for
and by architects, which was a whole
new experience for me. Even though I studied architecture for almost seven
years. The goal of the workshop was to collaborate on the creation of a
community by building something.
As all the
participants and the mentors were architects, we started to talk about the
current state of our location. A few years ago the former fabric was turned
into a beautiful location were creative persons can work and expose themselves.
We - outsiders - found out that it is inhabited by these different communities
which all have one thing in common (their profession) but that they hardly
exchange anything. We call it a lack of public domain.
The
building itself encloses a huge square which is sometimes turned into an event
location, some more regular than others. A square with a lot of potential
as well for its size as its’ relative safety in an area with a lot of traffic
and movements. However, it does not invite at all. And that is where we decided
to focus on.
Our main
objective was to make people enter the square and to give them a place where
they can entertain themselves, meet friends or strangers, spend some time
during one of the many activities in the former fabric or have lunch on a
workday. We designed a very open structure to make it inviting and
multi-usable. Off course, the designing process was not as easy as it sounds.
As I said, we were all architects which meant we all had our own ideas of what
it should look like. But we managed to create an object with different lines
coming together in one centre which was to host a fireplace.
The closing
party of the festival was also the inauguration of the object we created. As
the festival lacked real social activities so far, we decided that we were
going to organize them ourselves. With fifty euros, we headed to the
supermarket and bought some spirits (‘to get the fire inside’) and
marshmallows. As soon as the serious part of the festival was over we projected
a film of the fire which was just outside the building. Within a few minutes
everyone understood that the real party was there.
After a
toast talks burst out. But the real fun things were the marshmallows as only
half of the people around the fire knew what to do with them. They became a
reason to talk to strangers and the more experienced marshmallow eaters offered
suggestions about how to heat them. From
this small talk people continued to less superficial subjects and this was the
start of the so desired exchange between strangers.
We worked
so hard to make the best design and finish the object even during snow and
rainfall. But in the end all that mattered was the warm fire, some drinks and
food. This I why I like my Food in the Streets that much. It can be so simple!
