 |
| The Sculptural Playground Project - It is hoped that we will be able to install this prototype project on the Orange Grove Savannah, Tacraigua. This project will also highlight; most importantly, how we can design within the memory of space. |
TALES OF THE UNWAGED ARTIST :
DESIGN THEORY ITS
IMPLICATIONS FROM WITHIN THE PROFESSIONAL
CLASS IN THE INEVITABLE DEATH OF BEAUTY & THE SCULPTURAL
PLAYGROUND PROJECT IN THE RESURRECTION OF DESIRE.
It’s been some days
since the community meeting at the Charis Christian Centre, where the Save the
Savannah group in collaboration with the Lloyd Best Institute; held community
session, where the main parties where invited to present their thoughts on the
proposed development by the Ministry of Sport, for the Eddie Hart Grounds,
Orange Grove Savannah, Tacarigua. It was well attended, as people emotions
where stirred, this proposal came close to their emotional centre, distressing
their memory of space, economics and social life.
 |
| THE PROPOSED DESIGN FOR THE ORANGE GROVE SAVANNAH, TACARIGUA. |
The implication is
the development of the three major projects on 39 acres of land.
1.
An
international standard football field, East grounds, with stadium lighting.
2.
An
athletics track on the east grounds, with lighting.
3.
A
900 hundred seat covered pavilion – with changing facilities for players, public
toilets and concessionaire spaces.
4.
An
indoor sporting facility that will contain
a.
25m
swimming pool
b.
Open
gymnasium area.
c.
Aerobics
and Spin Class Area.
d.
Boxing
and Martial arts area.
e.
Multi-purpose
Court.
f.
Squash
Area.
g.
Administrative
Offices.
h.
Change
Room, Shower and Toilet Facilities.
5.
An
international Standard Cricket field on the West Grounds with stadium lights.
6.
A
dedicated jogging path on the East grounds with lighting
7.
Two
small goal football courts with lighting.
8.
A
children play park with equipment.
 |
| THE SPACE IS A 39 ACRES SPACE. |
a.
Lack
of communication –
1.
By
the designer of the project
2.
By
the principal architects in the development of the project.
b.
A
lack of community to own a space in real terms.
c.
The
lack of empathy – both in design and in policy development.
d.
A
lack of innovation.
 |
| A SOUTH WEST VIEW |
A : THE LACK OF
COMMUNICATION.
Was highlighted in
how the project was implied into the community. It came in the night, silent,
in whispers, low voices amongst friends, one word whispered in an ear, another
word whispered to the other ear; words spread, becoming louder. People
gathered, mobilized to meet the authorities. As usual there are two sides and
the rim; to a story, one group supporting the project is The Eddie Hart Group
for Football; a major group in the community another against it – the Save the
Savannah Group, is the conglomeration of civil and sporting groups in the
community. There was a meeting and I had the opportunity to sit in that
meeting; witnessing the conversation first hand. The lack of proper
consultation or the alleged lack of proper consultation didn’t help the design.
People were incensed at the development. Not one person saw that the project
was badly designed. There was a misconnection in how design as an ethical
process can affect development within communities.
 |
| GOOGLE VIEW OF THE SPACE - One thing to note Is how congested the space is already. With the development that little green area will be totally covered. This is what our present architects proposed, they don't have a problem imposing that type of design on the people. |
The two main and
constant arguments, are: development and progress; this must be made and done
on behalf of development and progress, so states the Sport Company of Trinidad
and Tobago.
The other argument
is the protection and preservation of the existing green space; keeping in tack
memory, tradition of the present space, there is the support for soft
development, through the enhancing of the existing facilities.
The question
banefully in the open is; can development and progress of the state;
preservation and tradition of a community space be merged, I will say yes. The
equation that wasn’t done was how much development cans one space, 39 acres
take before design becomes totalitarian, messy and dysfunctional.
 |
| A TERRY SMITH RENDITION OF THE SCULPTURAL PLAYGROUND PROJECT. I'M CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN PROVE THAT WE CAN DESIGN AND DEVELOP WITH COMMUNITY IN MIND. IT IS HOPED THAT THIS PROTOTYPE PROJECT WILL BRING TO THE TABLE A NEW DISPENSATION. ONCE THE PROCESS IS DONE RIGHT. |
Let’s speak on
behalf of design.
The architects of
the project spoke in-adequately, in defense of their design, through their
presentation, their language; the project came off as an individual pursuit to
appease their client mandate the Sport Company, excluding the end users; the
people of the community and the aura of the space, they adopted the new wave language
– sustainability, green theology, urban bling; it’s the language of the young
hip and old bureaucratic and technocratic designer. Get the contract, churn out
the design, design complacency, design individualism found especially in this
new Nuevo riche class of professionals.
 |
| ONE OTHER VIEW OF THE PLAY SPACE THAT WILL TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION BODY TYPES. |
Design communication
is important in how the client and the end user’s read and embraces the design,
most are skeptical of art and design; one of the reasons cultural studies and
curatorial studies was developed; to bridge the gaps. It is important that the
artists and designer pay particular attention to this; in a country where
design masculinity is a proffered stance. Designing masculine is enforced; it
is physical, hard, emotionless, stoic, imperial, capitalist, violent and corrupted.
Did the designers in their proposal mention the complex and fragile nature of
the space, that the space won’t be able to hold much development without it
becoming compromised, as a lung within the community, as a social space,
dispersing some of the design elsewhere. If they did this on behalf of the
ethical approach to design we would not be here. But in the “Eating ah Food”
our designers sell out to just the production of a design, not the art of
design.
 |
| RICK LOWE - PROJECT ROW HOUSE PROJECT |
THE SOCIAL: social
design, the communal approach has reached; designers are speaking not to the
community but along with the community, with the environment, geography,
language, the culture. Building aren’t as imposing, they sit light onto the
space, whispering at you rather than yelling, they are inviting nature to be
part of the structure, allowing space to be democratic, social, vibrant and
relevant to the senses of the people, to the memory of the people.
|
| THE SCULPTURAL PLAYGROUND PROJECT - PROPOSED FOR THE ORANGE GROVE SAVANNAH |
INNOVATION: The new
social design has brought on new innovations, new ways of presenting design
based on the theology of a society bending under the pressure of an out of
control neo-capital industrial hierarchy that have placed both the environment
and the social fabric at risk. There has been innovation in design from the
Barefoot College, The Project Row House, the Colombian experiment, The Phoenix
Waste Facility Project. They have all presented in their way how the new social
designer can interrogate space in an innovative and progressive manner,
challenging the old patriarchal designer.
 |
| THE PHOENIX WASTE FACILITY PROJECT |
ECONOMICS: can
design, its construction and presentation; be innovative, progressive and can
come in at cost, avoiding future NAPPA’s, can HDC housing projects be liberal in
the way they are presented, or how they operate, can a bridge, interchange
(Curepe or the Churchill Roosevelt Highway) stand in our imagination, a beacon
of inspiration for development of a people, a region, the international
community. Can innovative, progressive design be part of the everyday landscape
in Trinidad and Tobago, from within the state? At this point NO!, it can’t, but
progressive design is happening around us in very invisible moments, soft power,
in little corners of communities; little hands erecting living accommodations,
vending stalls, erecting them in the national and regional space, all being
done in separate, co-evolving desire for beauty to be part of their bodies.
These projects are being done by notable designers, naiveté and crafts people.
Internationally people have intervened in spaces where they have created
indigenous models of building to get there private projects done. Some that
come to mind are:
1.
the
Project Row House: by artist Rick Low, http://projectrowhouses.org/architecture/extra-small-house/
2.
The
Barefoot College: Bunker Roy - http://www.barefootcollege.org/barefoot-approach/campus-life/locations/ ,
3.
The
Phoenix Waste Facility Project: by designers Linnea Glatt and Michael Singer http://www.icisnyu.org/assets/documents/Singer_public_art.pdf
These projects have
proven in a multitude of language and situations that radical innovation is
alive; all they need is commitment from people, the artist-designer, the state,
the corporate bodies and the community to believe that they need the best;
understand art-design and the process that makes good art and design function
proper for them.
WHO BRINGS GOOD
ART-DESIGN TO THE COMMUNITY: “How Toronto planners ensure mediocrity” http://www.thestar.com/life/homes/2013/10/18/how_toronto_planners_ensure_mediocrity.html#
In this article we
see a finger being pointed at the planners, in the writer’s view the Toronto
skyline has become stylized into a banality of glass. I’m interested to ask,
who interested in defending the aesthetics of our space; Trinidad and Tobago,
Town and Country, the Planners Association, The Trinidad and Tobago Institute
of Architects - http://ttplanners.org/pages/about_us/about_us.html , Trinidad and
Tobago Institute of Architecture - In
their Mission statements there are words like
excellence and ethics, but when I look out the window something goes
wrong, when we want to “Eat ah Food” something horribly happens to design. So
the question is who will bring to our communities ethical design. How can we present projects that will enhance
life in communities? This is something that we need to work at in a serious
way. One look at our community centres, our schools, offices, our cities and
our homes, I see a lack of commitment to speak on behalf of progressive innovative
design on behalf of the end users. This can’t be a one off but a constant
dialog.
 |
| OVERVIEW OF THE ORANGE GROVE SAVANNAH - WHICH WAS SAID BEFORE WILL TOTALLY OBLITERATE THE GREEN SPACE. |
CONCLUSION: art and
design is a complex social phenomenon of politics, the social, class, art,
philosophy, economics, and dear I say it again the politics of “Eating Ah Food”;
artists and designers both compromise through a certain amount of editing of
work to suit all parties, the artist, the designer lives within the earth, give
to Rome what is due to Rome; yet at the same time protecting the integrity of
design, the art. Accomplishing this, we need to take on seriously the act of enlightenment
from organizations; into the language of
space; the desirous nature of aesthetics, we must thrust seriously into the
hearts of the state, the elite class and community; the imagination propriety
of art and design through conferences, symposiums and publications. All this
must be done in collaboration with all the stake holders, the architects, the
planners, the artists, UWI, UTT, Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Industry, Artists
Coalition of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago Service Industry, The
Trinidad and Tobago Artist Society etc.
Design in Trinidad
and Tobago, have gotten caught up in the cross roads of post modernity, post
colonialism, a deficiency in art-design education, a corrupted state and
political practice and class inertia that has sent design on a tail spin unleashing
a dialog and a practice that has gotten corrupted, presenting a lack of
self-esteem or an arrogance from within the professional class, violating our
communities. The Orange Grove Savannah and the situation there could have been
avoided; at first the designer of past and present had positioned art-design as
a forum of philosophy; rather than a technical forum for the political and
elite class. We need to infuse passion, culture, memory and mannerism back into
design…into art…into people, in people not class lies the inherent power to
revolutionize how art, design will ennoble the political and the social. This
is where the Sculptural Playground Projects sits.
“Instead we should argue for a
culture of design informed by archeology and anthropology, one that recognises
its embedded intelligence, its philosophical and radically propositional
nature. Even - or perhaps especially - when it's something as seemingly debased
as a Hot Dog Stuffed Crust Pizza.”
Sam Jacob is a director of
architecture practice FAT, professor of architecture at University of Illinois
Chicago and director of Night School at the Architectural Association School of
Architecture, as well as editing www.strangeharvest.com.
 |
| THE SCULPTURAL PLAYGROUND PROJECT - WILL BE BUILT HERE LOCALLY, WITH THE INTENTION OF SEEKING OUT INFORMATION THAT CAN LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DESIGN SPACE WHERE WE CAN IN A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN CRAFTS PEOPLE AND DESIGNERS, RESEARCH ENGINEERS AT UNIVERSITY OF WEST INDIES DEVELOP CORE DESIGN, SCULPTURES. |
The other position.
How communities can truly own their space
(other than cutting grass and picking up paper) will mean a proper articulation
of how they engage with their space. Communities will need to be proactive
rather than reactive within their gap. Art-Design can help empower the process of
owning a space. It will be interesting to see if the Save the Savannah Group
wants to protect “The Space”, other than the activist position of protecting
just “The Space”; which is an important act in-itself. They will need to engage
the space in a concentrated effort of protectionist design; this will need
communities to engage in projects of re-designing space, into “Their Space”,
other than the “The Space”.
The Sculptural
Playground Project.
 |
| THE SCULPTURAL PLAYGROUND PROJECT - WILL ALSO PRESENT A MODEL IN HOW LOCAL GROUPS CAN OWN THEIR SPACE. ONCE THEY UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS, THEMSELVES. |
How can this
resurrect desire in the heart of communities? In a presentation; I was told
why did I go on and on about the development aspects of the playground. They
told me that I should focus on the elements of the project that will capture
the imagination of the funders; which is play and children. I have always
understood that, from a strategic position, the children become a selling
point; my rebuttal; In a country where we lose moments of clarity, by only
focusing intently on one part of the discussion; the children, without
including the others; incubator industry, skill development etc., is part of
the problem of development in Trinidad and Tobago. We do not sit and have
specific conversations about the things we want to do. This is encouraged by
all involved in creative projects. Let’s get the money and we will broaden the
conversation later, which really never happens. It is hoped that we will be
able to include
Dean Arlen
31 October 2013
