Following our first collaboration in 2021, ENSCI-Les Atelier welcomed OCAD U students to Paris, France for a five day international workshop focusing on improving community and quality of life in a city earmarked for urban renewal. Led by faculty members Job Rutgers (OCAD U) and Sarngsan Na Soontorn (ENSCI), students worked in teams to develop site-specific design solutions with the support of faculty and international industry experts.
Job Rutgers, Full Professor in Design, reflects on this recent intensive workshop:
"The international workshop ‘Design for Diversity’ that took place in Paris was a blast! Ten students from different design programs at OCAD U worked together with French students from the renowned Design School ENSCI- Les Ateliers in a five-day creative session that started with a site visit to one of Paris outer suburbs, in the Isle St. Denis.
Students used the insights gathered from observing and interacting with members from the urban planning team ICI, to develop creative solutions and strategies to help revive and activate social connections of the community, overcoming different spatial, social and cultural barriers.
One group of students created an acoustic boardwalk and a series of street instruments to stimulate children and their parents to formerly inaccessible playgrounds. Another group developed a service concept for a community owned and operated marketplace, by citizens for citizens. Another group envisioned an augmented reality environment in which children of different ages were stimulated to explore, connect and create at different spots across the island, bringing a narrative of treasure island to life. The fourth group teamed up their talents to create a richly illustrated book that showed the islands hidden gems, and probing children’s imagination to get out and see for themselves.
The variety of projects and design disciplines came naturally and spontaneously together, as each team was driven by the specific context and issues, they had framed themselves. The role of the teachers was to guide the creative process, challenge and prompting the students and facilitate the social learning rather than prescribing. The pent-up energy of students who had spent two years locked up in online learning and now being together in a creative, stimulating and hands on environment of Les Ateliers was palpable, even some advisors who called in over Zoom remarked upon this.
In a final presentation to the Canadian Consulate in France (who had helped to bring this collaboration to life) students conveyed their inspiration, the successful collaboration and the though provoking concepts through a combination of physical models, tabletop role plays and creative storytelling.
Next year, French students from ENSCI Les Ateliers will visit Toronto and work with OCADU students on design for diversity, using the Town of Mississauga (Canada’s cultural most diverse city and one of its fastest growing municipalities) as the starting point for a one week workshop, in a project with local design think and action tank OpenCity projects. Stay tuned for more international inspiration to come in May 2023."
STUDENT TESTIMONIALS
"As a student from OCAD’s Criticism and Curatorial Practice Program and an aspiring art historian interested in cross-cultural communication, I believe an important aspect that designers and art historians share is storytelling. Who gets to tell the story? About whom? For whom? These questions remind designers and art historians alike to work towards a more inclusive future. With projects like Designing for Diversity, we can learn how to empower marginalized communities to speak and act for themselves..." - Anqi Li
We would like to acknowledge the support of the Consulate of France in Toronto and Government of Canada’s Global Skills Opportunity program
Credits:
Félix Marye