I've had a great time over the past two days on the Service Design Academy's user research bootcamp. These bootcamps are truly intensive. We were working with a live brief in a serious problem space. Read full article
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Could architecture and design do anything to alleviate walmartism?
How architecture is used to place poorer people in harsher environments.
Texture is a class thing. The more money you have, the more texture you get. The reverse is true of lighting and sound: the more money you have, the less of both of those you get.
These are not universal rules, but a return from a month spent in Europe to the United States, which is always much harsher in its economic realities than the countries over there, made it evident to me how prevalent the reality of texture discrimination is. Let’s call it walmartism: the transformation of the spaces used by those with the least means into boxes devoid of texture.
A more extreme example of a similar phenomenon is where a tower block such as Grenfell is re-clad to make it more pleasant for the rich people outside the building to look at, but more dangerous for the poor people living inside it.
Two Tottenham tower blocks at risk of catastrophic collapse
According to this article, these buildings have just failed tests that have been in place since the aftermath of the Ronan Point collapse in 1968.
…but the problems at Broadwater Farm were only uncovered in the last 12 months.
If I’m reading this article correctly, that means that these buildings have been unsafe for 40 years — but that has only just been discovered.
“It’s disgusting and it is very stressful,” said one woman who has lived in the same flat in Tangmere for 38 years. “Ain’t it funny this has just come out after Grenfell?”
Grim images of the last days at an English public housing estate
A photographic story of the final days of Lion Farm Estate, which faced demolition in the 1991 following the Margaret Thatcher government’s right to buy legislation.
Robin Hood Gardens and the divisiveness of brutalism
I was amazed — and delighted — by the V&A design museum’s decision to preserve a section of Robin Hood Gardens, the controversial social housing estate that is set to be demolished. It will be the largest section of a modern building ever to be preserved by a museum.
Architects had to face up to the problems that eventually emerged with bold modernist designs. Now Facebook and Twitter need to wake up to the fact that their platforms are damaging society. Read full article
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Absolutely stunning news that the V&A design museum has acquired a section Robin Hood Gardens for preservation. The design may be controversial and divisive, but I find it difficult to understand any argument that it is not significant and worth preserving.
Our perspective on how a digital product should be managed is strongly influenced by our background and our role. That certainly helps explain some of the difficult conversations I have had over the years. Read full article
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