Tag Archives: sustainability

Jam Tangan Ramah Lingkungan dari Limbah Kayu

Reny Maryani (27115046)

Indonesia merupakan negara dengan memiliki berbagai macam kekayaan sumber daya alam, salah satunya kayu. Kayu merupakan salah satu sumber daya alam yang di manfaatkan oleh manusia selama berjuta-juta tahun lamanya. Pemanfaatannya berawal dari kayu bakar, kemudian berkembang menjadi bermacam-macam kegunaan seperti tempat tinggal, kendaraan, alat musik, rumah lampu, furniture, peralatan rumah tangga, alas kaki, mainan hingga aksesoris. Dalam proses pengolahannya tidak jarang menghasilkan limbah kayu dengan jumlah yang tidak sedikit, ditambah apabila produk yang dihasilkan dibuat secara mass production maka semakin banyak pula limbah kayu yang dihasilkan. Kayu adalah salah satu sumber daya alam yang dapat dimanfaatkan kembali meskipun sudah menjadi limbah. Di Indonesia, limbah kayu sudah dimanfaatkan menjadi produk dengan fungsi yang sama atau baru. Mulai dari yang bernilai ekonomi rendah seperti arang sampai yang bernilai ekonomi tinggi seperti peralatan rumah tangga hingga aksesoris. Selain kenaikan nilai ekonomi dari limbah kayu yang diolah yaitu kita dapat memaksimalkan dan memperpanjang usia kayu tersebut karena seperti yang kita ketahui kayu (contohnya kayu jati) baru dapat dipanen setelah usia pohon minimal 5 – 10 tahun. 

Melimpahnya limbah kayu dari workshop interior-furniture yang tidak termanfaatkan dengan baik menjadikan ide bagi para industri kreatif untuk menggunakan limbah kayu sebagai bahan baku dalam pembuatan produk baru. Peluang pengolahan limbah kayu ini sudah banyak dimanfaatkan oleh orang-orang kreatif dari seluruh dunia. Salah satunya adalah Matoa, brand jam tangan pertama yang menggunakan limbah kayu sebagai bahan baku utamanya dan merupakan hasil karya anak bangsa dengan mengambil konsep urban, simplicity and nature menjadikan produk ini terasa eksklusif karena dibuat oleh para pengrajin dengan keahlian tinggi yang detail oriented dan tentu saja di desain dengan cukup apik oleh para desainernya. Ditambah dengan menggunakan limbah kayu berkualitas baik yaitu Maple dan Ebony Makasar menjadikan kualitas jam tangannya sangat baik.

Secara tidak langsung Matoa mengajak para konsumen menjadi bagian dari orang-orang yang peduli tentang penggunaan limbah kayu dengan memakai produk yang ramah lingkungan dan bahan baku yang berkelanjutan. Dan menegaskan bahwa pengolahan limbah kayu yang dilakukan secara professional dalam arti secara konsep desain dan proses pengerjaannya matang serta di dukung dengan packaging yang menarik dapat menghasilkan suatu karya atau produk yang bernilai ekonomi tinggi.

Tren sustainability design yang sedang digembar-gemborkan oleh para komunitas, pelaku industri, desainer dan pelaku yang lainnya juga bisa menjadikan pengolahan limbah kayu menjadi salah satu fokus utama dalam pengembangan desain yang berkelanjutan. Potensi pengolahan limbah kayu menjadi produk dengan nilai ekonomi masih terbuka lebar bagi para pelaku industri kreatif, karena masih banyak peluang produk-produk lain yang belum di ciptakan atau diciptakan kembali dengan menggunakan bahan baku utama dari limbah kayu. Selain itu dengan memanfaatkan atau menggunakan produk dari limbah kayu juga membuat kita turut berpartisipasi atas keberlanjutan usia produktif kayu. Karena tidak dapat dipungkiri, dengan meningkatnya permintaan pasar akan kebutuhan kayu sebagai bahan baku utama untuk di olah menjadi berbagai macam produk menjadikan pasokan kayu semakin berlimpah di pasaran, ini berakibat semakin banyak pula limbah kayu yang dihasilkan. Setidaknya dengan memanfaatkan limbah kayu yang ada menjadi salah satu solusi untuk mengurangi limbah kayu, namun lebih baik lagi apabila kita dapat memanfaatkan limbah kayu menjadi zero waste.

SUMBER :

http://www.trubus-online.co.id/panen-jati-lima-tahun/ di akses 10 Maret 2017

https://www.matoa-indonesia.com/ di akses 10 Maret 2017

 

RumputAlunAlun.bdg

logo itb 1920Di awal kuliah Desain Berkelanjutan di Magister Desain ITB, seperti biasa mahasiswa peserta kuliah, dalam kelompok, diminta untuk mempresentasikan secara ringkas pemahaman mereka mengenai isu ekologi, keberlanjutan, dan kontribusi Desain terhadap isu tersebut, baik positif maupun negatif. Kali ini, ada beberapa topik yang diangkat, mulai dari limbah medis, energi, gawai, hingga polusi, dan ada juga mengenai lingkungan kota yang membahas rumput sintetis di Alun-Alun Kota Bandung. Rumput sintetis di Alun-Alun Bandung ini memang lumayan hangat dibicarakan, terutama di media sosial, sejak baru terpasang. Bagaimana tanggapan sekelompok mahasiswa S2 Desain mengenai hal tersebut?

Bahasan mengenai rumput sintetis ini dimulai dengan asal material itu sendiri.

Slide1Slide2Rumput sintetis yang diimpor telah sarat jejak beban ekologi akibat berlangsungnya proses distribusi, transportasi, dan sebagainya. Ada hal-hal positif dan negatif seputar penggunaan rumput sintetis di Alun-Alun Bandung ini. Kelebihannya adalah dalam hal perawatan, daya tahan (durability), dan harga. Kekurangannya adalah ketidak-mampuannya menghasilkan oksigen seperti halnya rumput hidup, adanya substansi berbahaya yang dikeluarkan material tersebut, dan tidak dapat hancur secara biologis (non-biodegradable).

Slide3Slide4Perawatan rumput sintetis ini pada dasarnya berupa pembersihan dari sisa-sisa makanan/minuman, dan sampah-sampah lain, termasuk kotoran hewan dan permen karet(!) yang paling sulit dilakukan. Perawatan lanjutan memerlukan peralatan khusus, seperti sikat untuk meluruskan tekstur rumput, penghawaan, dan lain-lain. Lalu ada pula bahan pembersih yang biasa digunakan untuk memelihara rumput sintetis ini, seperti cairan penghilang minyak dan jamur, sekaligus pewangi.

Slide5Slide6Berbagai jenis perawatan ini memang tidak mudah, tapi Pemerintah Kota Bandung memang memiliki alasan tersendiri untuk menerapkan rumput sintetis, bukan rumput hidup, di Alun-Alun Bandung; antara lain adalah karena adanya basement di bawahnya. Pertimbangan ini tidak dibahas lebih lanjut dalam sesi ini, karena yang lebih menarik adalah adalah berbagai skenario perlakuan rumput sintetis ini bila masa pakainya telah berakhir. Keputusan menjadikannya material daur-ulang maupun pakai-ulang tentu tergantung kualitasnya di akhir siklus pakainya nanti. Tentu saja, makin ia dipergunakan dan dirawat dengan baik, makin tahan lama.

Dalam diskusi, disepakati bahwa perilaku pengguna warga Bandung terhadap rumput sintetis ini juga sangat penting. Minimal dengan tidak meninggalkan sisa makanan/minuman pada permukaan rumput ini, dan menjaga kebersihannya dari kotoran lain seperti lumpur/tanah pada sepatu, dan lain-lain. Karena, sebagus apa pun fasilitas yang disediakan oleh Pemerintah Kota, tidak akan bisa bertahan bila warga tidak turut aktif dalam mempergunakan berbagai fasilitas tersebut secara wajar dan turut memeliharanya.

 

Tautan terkait:

 

City, Design, Sustainability

When I was asked to deliver a talk that concerns city, design, and sustainability, I right away browsed the various materials that I have in stock for such subjects, while thinking of a way to integrate them into a legible statement. Most of the audiences, I was told, were (design) students and young delegates from ASEAN countries, so I would have to take into account that not everybody is familiar with Bandung and all its characteristics. All presentation materials, of course, have to do with programs of Bandung Creative City Forum (BCCF), its programs and strategy to create a “creative city”. Here goes.

City - Design - Sustainability

CITY – DESIGN – SUSTAINABILITY

Bandung in Brief

As the capital city of West Java Province, Bandung is populated by about 2,5 million people, of which almost 70% are below 40 years old. Historically, it was among the most cities favored by the Dutch colonial government due to its cool temperature, mountain scenery and hot water springs. It had more to offer: as a resource for quinine and pharmaceutical industry and tea and coffee plantations; it was the first city designed as a garden-city, and where Dutch-Indies architects built art deco buildings. In the 30s, the newest fashion could be found either in Paris or in Bandung, hence the nickname “The Paris of Java” for Bandung in those era. All these historical facts have left cultural heritage beyond mere physical buildings; they left a city whose people are used to having a variety of lifestyles and behaviors, including progressive development in many aspects.

Bandung Potentials

Bandung is located relatively near from Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. Surrounding the two cities are smaller towns with material and production resources, which have become an important part of business and R&D activities in Jakarta and Bandung. Among the advantages are easy accesses to material research, product development and production, market studies, manual skills, traditional and cultural resources, and many more, which are often required in creative activities. Therefore, the location of Bandung is much favorable, considering the surrounding resources and the distance to all these resources. Added by the condition of Bandung, which is known for its pleasant mountainous atmosphere, Bandung has its advantages as a Place where creative endeavors are supported and encouraged.

Since the establishment of the first higher education in engineering in Bandung, the city has become home for about 50 universities and other higher education institutions, both for vocational and academic/research levels. These schools have attracted young, talented people from all over the place, who represent the diversity of Bandung citizens. These generations also possess an abundance of energy and ideas. They commonly gather with people who share similar interests, conducting joint programs and numerous activities in various scales, and holding them in many spots in Bandung. The facts that communities in Bandung are high in number and are very active have lead to the conclusion that the main potentials of Bandung are its People and Ideas, added by the advantage of Bandung’s location and condition: Place. The slide that shows four main programs of BCCF (Helarfest, Kampung Kreatif, Simpul Institute, DesignAction.bdg), with their general road map, gives a picture of how these programs work closely to the field of design and creativity.

Design for the City

How is Design contributing to the development of a city and its sustainability? The following slides attempt to answer this question through examples taken from BCCF programs. Presented here are three functions of Design: as a tool, as a practice, and as a method. Firstly, as a tool, the design of our city branding .bdg has taken effect as a code that unify the different creative communities in Bandung, who can still present their individual identity while having also a collective identity as originated from Bandung (by the community’s name before the [dot], and by the “bdg” that follows). As commonly conducted when defining a brand, prior studies on positioning, values, personality, etc. were explored as well, to find the real soul of Bandung, before translating all these manifestations to a visual form: a logo, a brand and its activations that represent the city.

Secondly, as a practice, design for a city can come in many forms, purposes, and scales.

  1. RekaKota project during Semarak.bdg in 2010, where several public spots in the city were each assigned to a group of designers/artists. Each group designed either a shelter, a smoking corner, a public bench, and so on, depending on the particular spot. RekaKota is among the first BCCF events that attempted to implement a collaboration among designers, business sector, and the government, by offering the public facility designs to a brand or company who would invest in producing the facilities while also subtly promoting their brand, and by having the government’s decision to give permission to the location and the facilities, and for tax reduction if the facilities are considered as an advertisement for the brands.
  2. Bandung Public Furniture projects in Helarfest 2008 and 2009, where industrial design students, lecturers and professionals designed and produced a variety of public furniture and put them in public spaces (open space in malls, public parks, etc.). The products had unusual functions and shapes, compared to the benches commonly found in public areas in Bandung, and it was interesting to observe how people appreciate and interact with these products. This project has gradually proven that well-designed products can add to the pleasant experience of people towards their built environment.
  3. An infographic poster from Regia event in 2013 that was published in Pikiran Rakyat, the biggest newspaper in West Java, informed its reader about Babakan Siliwangi World City Forest in Bandung: the dominant tree species, its Oxygen production, its function as a transit place for migrating birds, and so on. Through this clear and easy-to-read graphics, people are expected to gain information and affection towards the subject at the same time, and – in this case – to be aware and care more about Bandung’s only city forest.
  4. Regia in 2013 contained several sub-events, among which one was Forest Dining, where Baksil ForestWalk was turned into a dining place, collaborating with a nearby restaurant. This environment design provided a new experience in dining, where the “floors” were elevated wooden planks and the “walls” were huge, living trees with its hanging roots, leaves and branches, lightened by random colorful spotlights. Furthermore, another Regia sub-event was going on at the same time: Blues Leuweung, where live blues music performed at Sanggar Olah Seni, a cluster of art studios located at the periphery of the forest, and its sounds reached the ForestWalk, which added to this unique dining atmosphere.

All in all, “design for the city” that are presented here can be seen not as a mean to merely decorate or beautify a place. Design is meant to provide proper interaction between people and their surrounding objects and environment, to give clear information inclusively, and to create pleasant experiences for citizens in conducting their daily lives in the city. All design projects by BCCF aim to make urban life more enjoyable.

Thirdly, design as a method to solve problems in the city. DesignAction.bdg (DA.bdg) program at BCCF is a workshop-conference that applies design thinking method to find innovative solutions for urban issues, involving the four stakeholders of a city: the government, business sector, academics and communities. The first DA.bdg in 2013 focused on urban mobility issues, where all participants tried walking, taking angkot and bus, and riding bicycles in the city in the observation/empathy phase. The process continued with re-framing up to prototyping, where participants in groups presented and role-played their recommendations to solve urban mobility problems. DA.bdg2013 had about 250 participants from all stakeholders (government, business sector, academics and communities) who gathered for three full days and interacted intensively with each other; an opportunity that seldom comes. The “creative process” that is commonly used to solve design problem is now no longer the domain for designers only, but can be applied to other conditions, including an urban setting, and even to rethink about policies and regulations, to find where bottom-up and top-down solutions can meet, and so on.

What about the Sustainability?

The term “sustainability” refers to the three aspects of Environment, Economy, and Social-Culture. “Design for the City” by BCCF includes these three aspects as well, in the form of the target of each program: Footprints. The slide that contains BCCF strategy to create a “creative city” describes that all BCCF programs and activities aim to leave either one or more of these footprints:

  • Economic: local people or communities should be able to gain an entrepreneurial mindset and to gradually self-sustain themselves by relying on their own skills and efforts
  • Social-Cultural: local people or communities should be able to express themselves and explore their own characteristics inclusively, particularly through creative activities
  • Environmental/ Artifact: there should be a physical object/ artifact that not only reminds the people/ communities about their creative potentials, but also becomes a tool for their creative expressions, while maintaining the quality of their living habitat

The previous examples left these footprints in various forms:

  • .bdg left a city brand and its activations; it gained a sense of belonging towards the city from the different communities; it also accumulated a sense of Pride that we all a part of Bandung; and it encouraged Bandung citizens to be aware of their identity.
  • Public facility projects left a number of physical objects that have improved the urban experience in Bandung, both for citizens and visitors; the project even led to a change of policy at the municipal level concerning creative expressions in public spaces.
  • Design thinking workshop basically provides a new method of solving problems by exploring the creative potentials from all stakeholders of a city, from different backgrounds and disciplines, since this is how usually innovations emerge.

It can be seen in the slide that contains a few of BCCF portfolio since its establishment in 2008: programs and events that were held to respond to, or attempted to find solutions for, a number of urban issues (in the red circles in the middle): green open space, urban mobility, entrepreneurship, public space, heritage buildings, etc. The processes and results are prototypes and recommendations for the city government and all stakeholders, especially seen from the community level, on how people can contribute to many aspects of a city. All programs and events leave the aforementioned footprints; some are better-maintained than the rest, which proves that they all require active participations from all stakeholders of the city.

Conclusively, it is proven that Design can play an important part in a City development: as a tool, a practice or a method. It so happens that Bandung has this potential at a superior level, therefore we – communities – have been using this strength to build our own living spaces, to make them more pleasant. The Sustainability takes place when all stakeholders understand and are willing to contribute to creating a Liveable, Lovable Bandung! 🙂

tempatsampah.bdg

Tempat sampah baru di Bandung

Tempat sampah baru di Bandung

Semester ini, MK Desain Berkelanjutan di Program Studi Magister Desain diselenggarakan lagi. Seperti biasanya, di minggu pertama pertemuan, mahasiswa diminta untuk menyampaikan permasalahan lingkungan yang (dapat) dipengaruhi oleh desain, baik sebagai penyebab maupun solusi.

Salah satu kelompok membahas tempat sampah umum yang baru dimiliki Bandung beberapa minggu belakangan ini. Diskusi mengenai tempat sampah yang terbuat dari plastik biodegradable ini mencakup hal-hal pro dan kontra terhadap jenis material biodegradable itu sendiri, namun dalam sesi ini lebih banyak dibahas juga dari segi Desain. “Desain” di sini bukan hanya berarti penampilan visual, bentuk, dimensi, dan warna, tapi juga dalam hal usability, operasional penggunaan, persepsi pengguna terhadap obyek itu sendiri, penempatan, dan sebagainya.

RK hadir lagi di kelas ini, kali ini bukan sebagai dosen tamu seperti biasanya, tapi secara virtual sebagai wali kota di cuplikan berita mengenai tempat sampah Bandung

RK hadir lagi di kelas ini, kali ini bukan sebagai dosen tamu seperti biasanya, tapi secara virtual, sebagai wali kota dalam cuplikan berita mengenai tempat sampah Bandung

Salah satu segi desain yang dibahas di sini adalah operasional membuka-tutup tempat sampah tersebut. Pada tempat sampah ini, orang harus memegang dan mengangkat handle yang terlekat pada tutup tempat sampah bila hendak memasukkan sampah ke dalamnya. Hal ini tidak biasa, karena desain tempat sampah pada umumnya tidak menuntut penggunanya untuk menyentuh tutup atau lubang buangannya secara langsung. Sebab, biasanya, mulut tempat sampah umum cenderung kotor karena tumpahan sampah yang dibuang, atau karena bekas bakaran puntung rokok yang dimatikan di sana. Sehingga, ketika menghadapi tempat sampah Bandung ini, orang yang merasa jijik cenderung harus menciptakan “sampah baru”, dengan cara menggunakan selembar tissue bersih untuk mengangkat handle tersebut sebelum cepat-cepat memasukkan sampah yang akan dibuang (sekaligus lembaran tissue pemegang handle itu) ke dalam tempat sampah tersebut. Akan lebih manusiawi bila terdapat perbaikan desain yang tidak mengharuskan orang untuk bersentuhan langsung dengan handle atau mulut tempat sampah umum.

Hal lain yang dibahas dari segi desain adalah penggunaan kode warna jenis sampah dan icon/ simbol pada tempat sampah tersebut. Bila akan dilakukan perbaikan desain pada tempat sampah ini, kelompok ini mengusulkan agar terdapat perubahan pada grafisnya, yang didahului dengan studi mengenai kode warna dan icon/simbol yang umum dipakai dan dimengerti sebagai kode pemilahan jenis-jenis sampah, namun juga sekaligus lebih akrab dengan masyarakat umum di Bandung/Indonesia sehingga dapat dimengerti dengan lebih tepat, sesuai dengan konteks lokal.

Jadi bagaimana peran tempat sampah ini terhadap isu keberlanjutan? Sebagai langkah awal, tersedianya tempat-tempat sampah di ruang-ruang publik ini mungkin cukup dapat mengajak warga untuk tidak lagi sembarangan membuang sampah ke jalan, taman dan selokan. Sebagai solusi sementara, tempat-tempat sampah ini mungkin ampuh, namun masih ada permasalahan-permasalahan seputar daya tahan, usability, dan visual pada fasilitas ini, yang berpotensi untuk mengurangi daya gunanya di masa mendatang. Artinya, ada banyak peluang dan kontribusi dari segi desain untuk membuat fasilitas ini lebih berkelanjutan.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–mToeCkCjc]

What’s Next?

DAbdg putihDesignAction.bdg 2013 was over about three months ago. It was our first attempt to conduct a colossal design thinking workshop-conference in order to find innovative solutions for urban problems; in this case, within the issues of urban mobility. Among our motivations to conduct that event was inadequate infrastructure and public service of Bandung, due to insufficient years of governance at that time.

We consider “design thinking” as among the methods that we could apply to come up with solutions that don’t require complicated bureaucracy, gigantic infrastructure, and massive financing. These are the kind of solutions that are feasible in a short-term, yet effective, although some might be temporary. We did a workshop-conference; we practiced the “fun theory” and we did have fun indeed. A productive kind of fun.

It’s 2014 now and we have a new leader for our beloved city. Our mayor for 2013-2018 is a visionary, progressive person; not to mention that he is the former chair of Bandung Creative City Forum (2008-2012), an organization that has been providing examples and conducting city-scale experiments, in order to show the previous government how a city and its creative potentials could excel.

Within the new mayor’s first 100 days period in office (September-December 2013), most citizens have been benefiting from improvements of public facilities and services in Bandung. The mayor also stated that 2014 is the year for strengthening infrastructure and disciplines. His vision for Bandung is seemingly simple, but quite apt: a livable, lovable city.

twitRK2014

What's next?

What’s next?

Now that the government has a similar line of thinking to ours, what’s next? What could the next DesignAction.bdg be about? It was too “easy” before: to fix a badly-run city. But now that the city seems to be in good hands, we are facing a different challenge. Therefore, in this phase of transition from old to new Bandung, DesignAction.bdg will be very interesting.

Starting a few weeks back, we at BCCF gathered again to find the answer to that “What’s Next?” question. Whatever we do, it is still based on our affection for Bandung and our intention to make it more pleasant to live in. There are lots of issues going around; we even picked one for Helarfest, our other main program. We consider it better if the results of DesignAction.bdg this time could be realized within three months or so.

Idea sketches

Brainstorming

We also consider the municipal programs, improving public facilities and services, and relating them to their impacts to society. How would people react? How would people respond to those improved product and services? What does it mean to live in a maintained city, with accessible public spaces and facilities with good conditions? Are Bandung citizens ready to accept all these improvements; do they have suitable mindsets and behaviors, in order to sustain these pleasant facilities? A bigger question for us would be; what does it mean to be an urban citizen?

Based on these questions, and more and more discussions, which I’m sure will happen a lot more times, we decided that the theme for our next DesignAction.bdg is iden[c]ity. We’d like to encourage our fellow citizens to define who they are, related to their urban habitat. It might seem abstract at this phase, but we have a lot of keywords that can be translated into programs, pre-events, workshops, and so on. Watch our sites http://www.dabdg.bccf-bdg.com/ http://www.bccf-bdg.com  and, hopefully, we could spill more in the coming weeks!

Handmade Urbanism

In the first week of June, 2013, BCCF was invited to participate in an exhibition and symposium with the theme Smart Cities: The Next Generation at Aedes Network Campus Berlin, Germany. We were asked three questions that determine the “smart” aspects of our city for the exhibition materials:

  1. How does your project “smarten up” your city?
  2. Why does your city need your project and what challenges are country­‐specific to your urban context?
  3. What are the new behaviors your building/planning/initiative encourages?

While working on the answers, we became more convinced that the strength of Bandung is in its proactive citizens who have been interfering with their own habitat, to make it more livable. Our presentation in Berlin included a series of Kampung Kreatif (Creative Kampong/Neighborhood) program and Helarfest 2012, which brought up issues concerning four elements of the city: river, forest, kampong and park. Next to Bandung, there are also other Indonesian cities such as Jakarta and Medan participating in the event. During the event, it was evident that most growing, dense cities in developing countries are facing similar problems due to overpopulation and underdeveloped infrastructures and facilities, of which solutions mostly depend on the survival ability of the inhabitants.

Handmade Urbanism

Handmade Urbanism book and Urban Future CD

On our last day in Berlin, we found a book whose contents resonate what has been done in the local neighborhoods of Bandung. This book, titled Handmade Urbanism, describes the journeys of five world cities that have brought them to receive the Deutsche Bank Award for their civic initiatives: Mumbai, Sâo Paulo, Mexico City, Istanbul, and Cape Town. The book also comes with a CD, titled Urban Future, containing documentary videos of these cities. Each city has its own issues, which received different treatments as well, and they are not always expensive, nor requiring a substantial amount of budgeting and infrastructures. From the stories, we could learn that all things started small – but they got started anyway – whether from a group of people or an individual, from common villagers or planners/architects to public figures, with different backgrounds.

The examples in Handmade Urbanism show results after about 10 years of the interventions, when citizens could already enjoy the results, where social changes are evident and physical improvements are obvious. Kampung Kreatif program in Bandung started in 2012, now not even 1 year old, and – as experienced in all fields – getting started and maintaining the energy and spirit are the most challenging phase. There is still a long way to go, but we are convinced that we can also keep the program going and reach up to such benefits!

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“All over the world, water takes a significant part of a city” – Mumbai

“The problem (of a city) will never be solved if we keep trying to demolish the slum” – Mumbai

“Community-based programs take place and succeed where administration fails” – Mumbai

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“City growth as desired by politicians creates greater tensions among its citizens” – Sâo Paulo

“Small gestures (planting, library, mural, etc.) can help create space and connectedness” – Sâo Paulo

More positive activities > more life security > less crime > less reason to demolish the “slum” – Sâo Paulo

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“Small scale activities and movements can create great changes in a community” – Mexico City

Next to soccer games, gangs also organize graffiti classes, which have lowered the criminal rates – Mexico City

“A change of an urban space can change the attitudes and activities of the local people” – Mexico City

“Improving accessibility for all (citizens) means improving the quality of life” – Mexico City

“A city is more than a place to make money, people need more than roofs above their heads” – Mexico City

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“Teach children to tend a garden, they’ll go home and teach their parents” – Cape Town

“Municipality needs to recognize what has been done at the grass root level, the activism and pro-activeness” – Cape Town

Bandung 2035

DAbdg putihOnly very few things are more exciting than having the chance to determine your own future. This time, the chance came as a workshop called Riung Gunung, which invited children to create a city of their desires. This workshop was held by Sahabat Kota, a community that focuses on conducting activities that provides a fun way to educate children about urban environment, as a Selasar Kids Program and also as one of the pre-events of DesignAction.bdg.

As mentioned in the previous post, Riung Gunung completed the workshop last week and is currently having an exhibition of the results. At the opening, the participants (children aged 8-12) acted out the conditions and current problems of Bandung, and their wishes for this city are translated into concepts and models. This exhibition goes on at Selasar Sunaryo Art Space until July 21, 2013, and some highlights will be selected and exhibited again during DesignAction.bdg on October 1-3, 2013 at the conference venue, Bumi Sangkuriang, Bandung.

Tokens of the regents that should be gathered in order to heal Sang Hyang Riung Gunung

Tokens of the regents that should be gathered in order to heal Sang Hyang Riung Gunung

Riung Gunung workshop was an adventurous one. The kids were divided into groups that represent five regions of Bandung and were given a mission: to heal Sang Hyang Riung Gunung, a spirit that lives in Bandung who has been ill due to the current conditions of Bandung. In order to do that, they must gather Sang Hyang Riung Gunung’s six regents, who live in mountains that are surrounding the city of Bandung, which represent six sectors of a city: (1) marketplace and trading, (2) cleanliness and landfill, (3) nature and parks, (4) urban housing and neighborhood, (5) sports and health, and (6) balance of knowledge, environment and social aspects. They were to gather tokens of these regents and put the pieces together to complete a puzzle.

During this mission, the kids were taken to a high density neighborhood to talk to the local inhabitants about their daily lives and mobility. They had a ride on a train (which, in this case, was the kind of train commonly used by mid- and low-income people), went to a marketplace and a Puskesmas (a clinic or health center that normally serves low-income people). They also went to a landfill and recycling center and public parks, before walking up the tower of Gedung Sate (currently the office of West Java governor), to have a good view over the city of Bandung.

Report books and photos of their adventures throughout the city: marketplace, train, health center, etc.

Report books and photos of their adventures throughout the city: marketplace, train, health center, etc.

These kids made reports, noted down as much data as they could absorb by all their senses, expressed their wishes in poems and drawings, composed a dramatic storytelling performance and created a city according to their desires in three-dimensional miniatures of the city. All these materials can be viewed at the exhibition, including a documentary video that records their activities.

Viewed briefly, their main messages are not far from what we are longing for our own living environment: peaceful neighborhoods, fun public parks, a smooth transportation system, pleasant shops, maintained historical buildings, surrounded by lots of playgrounds, plants and trees, and friendly animals. This is the City of Bandung in 2035, the kind they decide to live in.

What’s most moving was to see, during the opening of the exhibition, how these kids could articulately explain their plans through all their models and reports, happily, and full of spirit. It is obvious that they are proud of their works! Let’s hope that they would fondly remember this experience, and also not forgetting the fun process of achieving all these results, when they reach the age of mature citizens of Bandung, when they would have already become professionals, who could make actual contributions to the city. Let’s hope that they remember their dreams and desires, make them happen with their own hands, and leave footprints that they can also be proud of!

Salute to Sahabat Kota for the hard work and much respect to the volunteers who have pulled off this program successfully! 🙂

Farewell photo of the workshop participants and their instructors after the opening of the exhibition

The green part of that wall is Tangkuban Parahu mountain, from where cable cars come and go into the City of Bandung

The green part of that wall is Tangkuban Parahu mountain, from where cable cars come and go into the City of Bandung

Crayons are available for those who want to add ideas

Crayons are available for those who want to add ideas

You can tell that this is somewhere in the center of Bandung by the railway

You can tell that this is somewhere in the center of Bandung by the railway

Brainstorming ideas and illustrations

Brainstorming ideas and illustrations

The five regions of Bandung for each group

The five regions of Bandung for each group

Riung Gunung: children as co-designers

DAbdg putihChildren are important stakeholders of a city. In the next 20-30 years, they will be the ones taking over and making decisions for the city. However, they are often neglected, or not taken into account, by public facilities and infrastructures that are built in Bandung. The streets – and even sidewalks – are too dangerous for them to walk or ride bicycles alone, city parks are neither closed nor unkempt, playgrounds are almost non-existent, and so on. It is due time that they should say their desires for the city and to be listened to. This is the main reason why Riung Gunung is on!

REV [RG]Poster_05 (pendaftaran)

Riung Gunung promotional poster

Riung Gunung is a workshop organized by Sahabat Kota, a community/organization in Bandung that has been active in holding programs and events for children and youth who want to learn about the City of Bandung and urban life. As a part of the pre-event series approaching DesignAction.bdg, Riung Gunung is coming up really soon as the next one. This workshop is held for 60-90 children between the ages of 9 to 12, whose main task is to make a scenario of Bandung 2035. In this 6-days workshop, they will go through the phases of exploration, city adventure, envisioning, co-design workshop, and realization. As a result, they will make a model or a physical miniature of the city according to their design, and will act it out, according to the systems they create. These results will be performed and exhibited on July 7, 2013, at Selasar Sunaryo Art Space, a gallery at the North of Bandung, and also during DesignAction.bdg event on October 1-3, 2013.

The 30 instructors who will accompany these children during this workshop have been having their own workshops in order to be prepared with appropriate knowledge, with the following subjects: design thinking, sustainable development, child psychology, education for sustainable development, city planning, performance, games, child handling and creativity.

Detailed program of Riung Gunung

Detailed program of Riung Gunung

We are really looking forward to having this workshop. Hope for a lot of fun and incredible results!

More about Sahabat Kota: http://kisahsahabatkota.wordpress.com/

Sahabat Kota at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sahabat.kota

Sahabat Kota at Twitter: https://twitter.com/sahabatkota

Sahabat Kota videos at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/komunitassahabatkota

Design Thinking workshop: urban mobility

DAbdg putihWe plan to hold DesignAction.bdg, an international conference/workshop on Design Thinking, but not all of us have a design background, nor are familiar with conventional design process, and most of us have never experienced Design Thinking approach. Therefore, as one of the pre-events that precede DesignAction.bdg, we held an internal workshop on Design Thinking, by inviting Amelia Hendra (ex-IDEO Shanghai) to be the facilitator. This workshop consisted of an introduction about Design Thinking, then an exercise to use the method within the context of urban mobility issues. It is like doing a simulation of the actual DesignAction.bdg event in a smaller scale.

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Day One: introduction

The workshop was held on April 5-6, 2013, attended by about 30 participants. In the first day, Amelia introduced herself. It helped that she was born in Indonesia (originally from Pontianak, West Kalimantan), so Indonesian language was used the whole time. During this workshop, she was assisted by Adi Panuntun, founder of Sembilan Matahari and co-founder of Bandung Creative City Forum (BCCF), a movie maker/ video mapping creator who pursued his study in Design Thinking at Northumbria University, UK. The participants are organizing members of/ contributors to DesignAction.bdg event that came from different backgrounds and communities in Bandung, such as Riset Indie, Labtek Indie, Sahabat Kota, Vidour, GrowBox, Sembilan Matahari, KreativeLab, Fight.BDG, ITB (from School of Business and Management, Faculty of Art and Design, and Architecture Department) and UNPAR. Amelia proceeded with giving an overview about Design Thinking method and examples. The participants came up with questions, whether the Design Thinking phases should start from a certain point or if it can be started anywhere, about “extreme users”, and discussed the importance of “reframing”, since this is practically the most important skill required in the process. Lunchtime was filled with a documentary video about Curitiba, which inspires us all: that with few resources we should still be able to move and make changes. The day ended with an assignment that required the participants to break into groups and started a fieldwork: Understanding urban mobility through the lens of Bandung. The participants should map out design challenges: map out key stakeholders, list out interview questions, and divide tasks with team members.

(c)AmeliaHendra2013

(c)AmeliaHendra2013

1 Observe & Understand: Not only about being creative | But also about being empathetic

2 Reframe: Does not start with the answers | But about asking the right questions

3 Ideate: Not only for designers | But also for problem solvers and optimists

4 Prototype: Not only about designing and thinking | But also making, learning, and sharing

5 Co-design: Not only about perfection | But also about perspectives

Processing ideas

Processing ideas

In the second day, the process was continued and completed, up to prototyping and sharing phases. There were four groups, each took a different focus: angkot (a public minibus that serves as a public transportation method that dominates Bandung), pedestrian, DAMRI (city bus) and PKL (mobile food vendors that often cover a parcel of roads and sidewalks). As a closing, each group presented their findings and solutions, all in role-playing, and it was obvious from this phase that everyone enjoyed the workshop. It was a pleasant way to identify actual Bandung mobility problems from different viewpoints, to exercise all forms of creativity and to come up with recommendations that might be solutions for the problems.

The groups proposed products, systems, programs and activities that might release some burden related to mobility and traffic, at different scales. Some might need conventional way of infrastructure improvements, but most could actually be implemented without requiring substantial financial capital and complex bureaucracy, and could be succeeded as long as networks and collaboration among local people and communities are available.

An impression from a participant (Ronaldiaz from Agritektur): Collaboration is an important key point, since this workshop was joined by people with multidisciplinary background. If one participant from each discipline could contribute one solution from his/her field, by collaborating we would be able to give a comprehensive solution. The power of collaboration is indeed frightening!

Thanks to Amelia and everyone involved in the workshop! We had fun – a productive kind of fun – which what we of young productive age actually need, to be able to respond innovatively to endless problems faced by our urban environment.

The results of the four groups were all presented at the next Pre-Event of DesignAction.bdg, PechaKuchaNight.BDG that was held on Sunday evening, 26 May 2013.

Pedestrian team

Pedestrian team

Angkot team at work

Angkot team at work

DAMRI team

DAMRI team

Amelia closing the workshop

Amelia closing the workshop

Amelia assisting a group

Amelia assisting a group

Story of a City Forest

Not every city has a natural forest, moreover a World City Forest, like we have in Bandung: Babakan Siliwangi (BakSil). Now that we have one, what do we do with it? Merely disrupting it by replacing the trees with massive concrete buildings would be unimaginable, since that is the same as destroying the forest; but this is what seems to be the near future of BakSil City Forest if local people and communities do nothing about it.

Forest Walk at Babakan Siliwangi. (c)GalihSedayu2013

Forest Walk at Babakan Siliwangi. (c)GalihSedayu2013

Therefore, several communities have been holding events in this area to activate the idle space, while inviting more people to interact with the forest. Among the communities is Bandung Creative City Forum (BCCF), an independent organization that has previously hold two events to intervene BakSil. The first one was in 2011, during TUNZA: having BakSil declared as a World City Forest and building a canopy walk, presently called ForestWalk, at the premise. The second one was in 2012, with an event called Lightchestra as the opening of Helarfest2012: a three-days sound- and light-play in the forest, with an open-air concert of local indie bands, painting artists’ live performances, a photography contest, a paper lantern workshop for children, communities that perform best at night such as B.U.L.B. (Barudak Urban Light Bandung, a light graffiti community) and Bandung Urban Jedi; also collaborating with an environmental organization to limit and measure solid waste (food packaging, plastic bags, etc.) produced during the event.

"Al Fresco" forest picnic at Forest Walk during REGIA. (c)GalihSedayu2013

“Al Fresco” forest picnic at Forest Walk during REGIA. (c)GalihSedayu2013

This time, as the first 2013 program, BCCF held “Regia”, which aimed to refresh our relationship with our only city forest. The name “Regia” was taken from a dominant tree species that grows within the area, Delonix Regia, or Flamboyan in local name. During the two days of Regia, 20-21 April 2013, a lot of people gathered for various events, such as “Al-Fresco” or potluck picnic at the ForestWalk, children activities and games, open library, photo exhibition, morning yoga, forest dinner, live blues performance “Blues Leuweung” by several local blues musicians, and a discussion session about urban forest to close the series of event. An infographic, that was especially made for this event and was published in a regional newspaper and online social media, presents a number of facts about BakSil City Forest and how important it is for us.

From time to time, we need to celebrate our public space. Especially in a dense, growing city with substandard infrastructures like Bandung, whose inhabitants often need to take their own initiatives to improve their living environment.

After Regia, it seemed that there is hope that the company who has the developing right over BakSil would postpone its plan to build any commercial entity on the area. But our hope is yet again on trial, due to today’s update that the developer now has possessed permission to actually build a restaurant. Irritated as we are, we shouldn’t lose focus and conduct, within our capacity, smart responses to this issue. Let’s just make sure with all of our might that the story of our city forest continues for generations, onwards.

Related links:

Today’s news: the company is granted a permission to build on that area

Why we should care about our city forest

I wish these trees could stay

BCCF event announcement: REGIA

A photo essay by Galih Sedayu: on REGIA event

A photo essay by Galih Sedayu: about a series of graffiti that protests the commercialization of the city forest