Unlocking Potential in the Fratton Community Centre

On 18th October 2024,

Jane Bennett - Vibrant Matter

Jane Bennett's book talks about "thing-power" the idea that how everyday objects and materials have their own kind of influence in our world. Instead of seeing objects as just passive things that humans use she suggests they have their own kind of life and importance.

The book also talks about how much our consumer driven culture of buying , using and discarding has blinded us to overlooking how much we miss when we treat everything as disposable. She's also worried about how our modern "throw-away" culture. When we treat things as disposable, we miss their importance and their connections to our lives and the environment.

We were tasked to select the words that stood out to me. I focused on these words - Care, time, Great circle with no rims, value, human action.

Discussion on Fratton Site Visit

We discussed our site visit to Fratton Community Centre using bubble diagrams as a method to show our understanding of the space. We talked about topics such as what the site meant to us.

Different views:

We all looked at the word site in different ways: Location, Ecology, Soil, Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape,Topology,Accessibility,Community Engagement, Adaptability, Collaboration Spaces, zoning, and circulation.

In the end, we understood that the meaning of the site is much deeper it's about connecting architecture and art to create a space that really serves the purpose. 

In the redesigning of the center, we should consider both human and non-human factors, creating spaces that respond to community needs.

Further work

Towards the end, we were introduced to an exciting 3D workshop for the next week.