Pablo Bris
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
LAVAPIÉS
Work of students of Design Workshop II. ETSIDI-UPM, spring 2019
Improving the life of the Lavapiés neighborhood using new technologies has been the motto of the last course of the subject of Design Workshop II. The selection of projects that are part of this exhibition tries to convey the diversity of approaches and design strategies, all of them focused on improving the experience of Lavapiés users.
Why Lavapiés?
The proximity between Lavapiés and ETSIDI motivates that this neighborhood has been understood as a very timely field of work and reflection. It is an urban reality that crosses a paradoxical situation: it is considered one of the areas of Madrid center with greater tourist, multicultural appeal and with a lot of leisure activities, but the changes it experiences are causing problems of coexistence and gentrification processes.
What motivates us?
Improving people’s lives is one of the main reasons for the design. In addition, community-focused projects are becoming increasingly relevant. During the course we have worked analyzing the problems that Lavapiés presents and after detecting opportunities to direct the works, projects of very different types have been developed.
How do we do it?
Lavapiés presents problems characterized by being very open, dynamic and complex. They are not clearly defined or bounded, change rapidly over time, and opposing interests concur that make their resolution difficult to address from traditional positions.
In this sense, tools of design thinking and Dorst methodology have been used during the course. These work strategies allow addressing these problems more objectively and especially in a more creative way. Specifically, the Dorst methodology addresses the values of the people affected by the problem as a fundamental ingredient on which to base the design proposals.
Why new technologies?
The only limitation raised during the course has been the incorporation of new technologies in the projects. Each of the examples participating in this exhibition applies from new materials, emerging manufacturing and modeling techniques, to new forms of information and communication management. This condition makes it possible that during the ideation phase the projects try to update themselves to current techniques, always with the aim of improving the lives of residents and users of Lavapiés.