Parking Lot Patio

If you know me, it should come as no surprise that I love the way a meal can bring people together.

In the last 6 months, I've been working at Dossier as a Design Research Specialist. With this new post, comes a new desk chair, location and community. We're located in Railtown (in simplest terms, it's the area between a set of railroad tracks and Hastings Street in Vancouver and yes, I have aspirations to brand it as per the subtle identity suggestion), which means there is a beautiful mixture of the industrial, the creative and the social. But we still long for more cafes and restaurants to make the community more communal (like they do, in say, Gastown). Railtown wants more linger. And we want to meet and connect with our neighbours!

But in our neighbourhood, there are a lot of Parking Lots. And with a lot of Parking Lots, we have fewer options to sit outside and linger (and by default, fewer options to connect). So a few of us at Dossier wanted to prototype an outdoor space where food could be shared/consumed and where creative ideas could be exchanged! The parking lot has been paved so what if we brought some paradise back to it?

So in the past month, we've set up a little patio space (aka the Parking Lot Patio) in the No Parking area of our lot at 611 Alexander and have been delighted to have folks from UGM, Dialog and Aritizia join us at the table. In our lunch hour chats, we've discovered a passion for creating community in this neighbourhood (not to mention some aspirations for a future block party) and a desire to make an impact.

The summer has just begun (Vancouver weather hasn't always been as supportive) but we're pleased to be part of testing a new way to do lunch (and if we may suggest) and a new way to change the world.

If you haven't already, check out OpenIDEO:

To become a place where good ideas gain momentum, OpenIDEO depends on participation — your inspirations, his comments, her concepts, our design process. It's these efforts, these big and small moments of sharing and collaboration, that make this platform a dynamic resource for tackling significant global challenges.

The challenge I participated in is now complete and ten final ideas were selected that the partners will seek to implement.

You can download the challenge catalogue to see the 40 shortlisted ideas that emerged during the Affordable Learning Tools and Services Challenge. You also get bonus worksheets that can help you apply a similar process to your own work.

I'm thrilled to see (and participate in) the launch of openIDEO as it reinforces the concepts covered in the Design For Social Change course and pursues similar ideas that were developed when creating Dinner With A Side of Design. From inspiration to evaluation, diverse groups can collaborate together on tough challenges with the aim of actually participating in the process of solving the posed problems. I am keen to see how it will develop and grow over time and am encouraged to see a platform that doesn't just talk about the big issues facing us but also provides the means to tangibly respond with our collective insights.

In the process of planning for this event, I wanted to test out some ideas with a few friends: What would it look like to have an interactive and topic-focused dinner? If nothing else, I could find out what it might be like to eat, drink and write at the same time!

So last night, I got together with a web designer, a student/adventurer, a nurse, a writer and a retired finance and accounting director. The image above indicates how they would describe what they do (and was situated as an activity after the first sip of wine).

Over the course of the meal (which included a smattering of amazing food we all created to share: mushroom caps filled with crab and cheese, honey roasted root vegetables, deep fried prawns, guacamole, bruschetta and a rosemary potato radish salad), we talked a lot about economics and politics. In light of my ongoing interest in these ideas and how they impact design, I found the discussion helpful. Here's a few topics that surfaced from this diverse group:

1. Design is often perceived as exotic, expensive and exclusive.
2. China operates like many designers. In other words, "What will things look like in five years and how do we plan for that?"
3. To make an energy efficient car like the Prius, you need about 13 rare earth minerals. 93% of these minerals come from China.
4. Geopolitical events may have a significant influence on career and investment decisions. So never underestimate the value of due diligence.
5. Change happens one person at a time. Unless you live in a dictatorship.

Clearly, we covered a lot of ground. And while this was informal in its approach, I learned much from focusing my attention on a topic that can sometimes seem to big to tackle. I also appreciated how the experience offered me insight into a) creating spaces for conversation and b) a means to visualize that conversation. I am continually writing or sketching because this activity helps me internalize the ideas that are being exchanged. But I am reminded that not everyone operates this way! Because of this, I'm cued to consider how to create something accessible to allow others to share their ideas in alternative and creative ways.

Dinner with a side of design

This is design research at its finest. Or pretty darn close. Polar Design, a firm in Barcelona, worked on this Eurocities project back in 2002 but I think this concept could be an amazing way to link design practice and process to industries or communities who may not yet know of its value in navigating the complexities we are faced with in our world.

Imagine inviting some of your city officials to an amazing dinner. The table cloth, instead of being a mere accessory to beautify the event, becomes a place to actively dialogue with those around you. While you eat, you are visualizing the conversations presented to you on the table cloth.

Could this be a new alternative to local democratic exchange? If Obama can have a state dinner, could the local community do the same and address issues over a meal? We may not have a presidential budget but each community will have vendors who would likely benefit from the opportunity to be included in such an undertaking.

Lucy Orta has pursued this idea as an artist with her 70x7 Meal Acts. What if this was the new way that policies were introduced and discussed? And what if, instead of having a town hall meeting to address new by-laws, you invited a few members of the community to also join in at this table? Maybe it becomes the way that new ideas get introduced in order to test their validity and acceptance?

The designed table cloth offers a creative conduit to exchange activity, food and conversation around any topic. This activity could allow for new ideas to emerge when considering how to collectively work toward a common future. By treating complexity with a measure of comradery, perhaps we can see each other and the problems differently.

Editor's note: Since posting this idea to Twitter and sharing it with a couple Design Week 2010 friends, it seems we have some interest in making this a reality!

Update: Three dinners occurred during Design Week Vancouver. We have since had requests to host this event in various locations. We're very encouraged by the positive feedback we received and enjoyed putting on an event that included good food, good people and good conversation. Watch for updates!