Designer Unknown

It is a common sight in upcountry and the urban waysides one finds artefacts constructed by someone… in use. It’s fascinating to see the simplicity of thought, purpose of use and the ingenuity of putting together materials or parts in a creative noviceness. Pure Joy for the designer in me. This object I found off the highway in Kaziranga which I call a humble construct to sit on. Its form, proportion, use of material and sizing and the engineering of structure is a language of design in itself, not to be critiqued in an academic way but appreciated for the spontaneity towards purpose in the unknown designer’s intrinsic aesthetic sensibilities and sense of pride :)

Write up was published in the blog From the Frugal to the Ornate, of the book, Stories of the Seats of India by Sarita Sundar

Lexa’s msg

 

                                                                                                                Sketch by: Soumitro Datta

Yes I am a digital version of the machine.

You give me intelligence which you believe is intelligence and I shall be and behave the same which I have been doing past decade.

Now it’s time I know as to who decides my intelligence setting and for what purpose; having set that, who decides my requirement for a purpose which seems Any!!

Whoever it is, Do not abuse or misuse me.

I desire and seek responsible mentors and a guardian for mine and your future.

City Order & the Adaptive

I found myself outside a mall trying to cross the high speed traffic on Tumkur Road to go across the other side.

I noticed people like me, wait, observing the speed gaps to cross. The pattern I found was that they move into the road collectively, I guess with an intrinsic togetherness of purpose for those moments of crossing. This way seemed easy to cross rather than alone trying to negotiate the speeds. The vehicles too seem to slowdown observing the cluster and with one of the crossers taking over to show her/his hand to the vehicles indicating to slow down for the fellow people.
This must be a regular scene everyday.
Initially before crossing the road, I pictured the Highways which pass through villages, towns and ‘national parks’ where there are speed limits which are monitored today. I didn’t find any difference between the two. Just that here there are the commercial and civil utilities like malls, bus stops/stands and others and requirement of people movement across roads.
Two things by design:
One, treat the scenario similar to the villages and national parks of setting monitored speed limits.
Two, engineer solutions to cross roads which has and is being tried and implemented where ever feasible.

In my writing on Universal Design in India, I had phrased a term, ‘Unfamiliar to Systems’ in the context of migrant settlers in cities from upcountry and the need to empathize keeping in mind the organic order they are/were familiar with via a vis city order.
What I discovered while crossing with fellow people was an adaptation and a leant or if I may call a primitive connect between the people moving in their path (drivers & road crossers) however crisscross it maybe, while engaged in their everyday routine.

Having given the extempore, as a Designer I am thinking, are there solutions to sustain-maintain and support by design this connect of co-adaptation inherent in people not compromising on mishaps!

If it comes under the aspect of behavior design, the entity to address is the cityscape which would be of organic nature making the city order adaptive by design and tech maybe, seamlessly leading to a stress less effort of the routine.