Problem: not enough public spaces for social life
Solution: creating a coffee shop
- Substitute
I could substitute one of the spaces in the coffee shop for a kid’s area where they could read and play with each other. Or instead of a coffee shop, it could be a bigger public area like a type of mall but with coffee shops, libraries and studying areas. It could be just a public space with no closed areas where everyone could be doing their own thing at the same time in a mixed environment. This product could be used instead of creating a shopping mall.
Combine
If we combine the coffee shop with a library it would be a more entertaining space for studying and working than a normal library. We could make it a free space with tables, books, and a coffee space where you could buy something only if you wanted to but still use the space otherwise.
Adapt
it could turn into a kid’s playing area where parents can have coffee while they look after them. This way, giving kids a safe space surrounded by adults while also fomenting adult interactions with each other in the community. It could be an adjacent part of one of the existing parks near a school to give a new use to the area.
Modify
I could change the physical part of the space and put it in an already existing area, like a park or a not successful public area. If I create a recreational center it can have many floors with different uses for each of them in order to include more things and have them a bit separated from each other. We could add an event space in the design where the community could hold activities for large groups like fairs, town meetings or little markets.
Put to Another Use
Every neighborhood could have an area like this with many different spaces to study, eat and have fun for people of all different ages. Schools could also use this idea to build a center only for kids or the communities could build spaces like this for senior citizens to be able to meet in. The use that could be put to use for the space would depend on the community or target group that’s using it
Eliminate
It could only be a space for one targeted group, like only kids or students and have a studying place that could also have an area to relax and have fun.
If we took the coffee shop part away from this place we would have a community or a recreational center. this could be an interesting thing for Jackson heights’ population since they could all interact with each other, no matter the age or ethnic group
Reverse
If we switch the positions, we could have a place that only offers jobs to students and where they could have part-time jobs and get more involved with the older age groups. It can also be focused on bringing people from different ethnic groups together rather than different age groups. It could focus on interacting with different people and encouraging them to be in a shared space in the neighborhood and mix with each other instead of being physically apart in their own neighborhood locations.
Statement
After all the research I’ve conducted and from what people told me in the interviews, Jackson heights lacks places for public life. Every adult is very focused on working and providing for their family, so they don’t have many interactions with their neighbors. And from what I could hear from the young people, there are some parks but there aren’t any places to have fun. No cinemas, or arcades, or places where little kids can play safely.
I would like to explore the idea of creating a space that can provide a chance for everyone to have more social life outside of work or school and with this exercise I could explore many ways to design a space that could do that in order to give a solution to the initial problem. What I found out is that I could eventually design a space that could target a big part of the community and not only one age group, by combining ideas and providing a space for every different need.
