Designing with Scarcities

     The idea that there is a relationship between the theory & visions, everyday routines, and the models and designs within society is a concept that I found very interesting. Representational space is the goal of the representations of space with the space of practice taken into consideration. That sounds entirely too complicated, but I think it makes sense. In other words, I think the overall plans/policies put forth by any planner has the goal of creating a utopia; a utopia based on satisfying the daily routines naturally built into society. The ability to shape human life through the use of space is unique to every local and culture. The scarcity of space creates the necessity for people to come up with clever ways in which to work towards their local representational space or utopia.  

 

“In all these projects, the designers were confronted with scarcities – of materials, of expertise, of money – but understood these as opportunities rather than obstacles. And in each case, they shift the attention from having less to using design ingenuity to redefine the project. Where architectural procurement is normally focused on the efficient production of new buildings, here special intelligence is deployed to redistribute what is already there in a manner that mitigates the effects of scarcity.” – Jeremy Till

 

            People have always made use of their local resources to grow their communities and develop culture. When the need for certain materials or resources cannot be met, creativity and innovation have to kick in and provide new ideas and techniques to reach the idealistic goal. I worked on an urban farm in Philadelphia while I was at Temple. This was an eye-opening experience that showed me the potential individuals could make on the community. The farm took over an abandoned parking lot and recycled the resources within the community (old car tires, cobble stone, brick, etc.) to develop the urban farm that now provides food for a community that would otherwise be living in a food desert. This kind of resourcefulness shows the relationship between everyday routines, utopia, and plans. The everyday essential routine (eat fresh produce) led this community to devise a plan (convert a parking lot to an urban farm) that made use of unusual materials in order to better the community and bring them closer to their vison of a healthy and prosperous neighborhood. 

 

            This example goes to show that scarcity does not mean impossible. It is only a reroute towards an innovative/creative method of reaching your vision.