Elzbieta Trocka-Leszczynska, Boguslaw Wowrzeczka Wroclaw University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture, Wroclaw, Poland 223
Experimental design task
Design task title: “Fastfood reality – home”
The goal of the exercise is to design and build a residential object :
- which will occupy minimum area of a generic type and wil be constructed of
materials and structures which do not require employing specialized building
techniques - integrating all elements of the collaborative design process
- establishing common communication environment as design methods
- creating and experiencing the real space
The experimental exercise was carired out by a group of students comprising 10
people. Students described ideological aspects of the design task on essay:
Chosen parts of this essay are quoted below:
Goal
We want to prove how much the world, we, ourselves, are influenced by brand phi-
losophy and consumption culture. We are trying to figure out whether modern society
accepts the world, with its perfectly created brands which suggest a certain life style,
the world, where fast food forces out home cooking and where Coca Cola replaces
home-made stewed fruit..
We try to find an answer to one question: How does an individual, a potential
consumer feel about this, where does he find his place.
Material
We’ve decided that it has to be easily accessible, belonging to the consumption cul-
ture. One, that would enable us to create a functional, high quality area, a material
satisfying the consumer’s needs. We chose boxes, Coca Cola bottles are stored in and
McDonalds wrappings.
The Consumer
He is fastidious and frequently changes his likes and dislikes, continuously demanding
something new, better, more efficient, cheaper, something which would satisfy all
his desires. Although he’s constantly striving to achieve a higher level of approach-
ing his needs, he will never be fully satisfied. The consumer’s hunger can be eased
only temporarily.
The space he lives in, has to satisfy his basic needs, it has to be of HIGH QUALITY,
it has to attract attention, it has to be quite cheap and what’s most important- it has
to be mobile. That means flexible, adjusting itself according to the circumstances,
the consumer’s needs, wishes, giving him a feeling that he’s mastering the situa-
tion-that he is the one making the most essential decisions, at least that’s what he
believes. He wants to sleep-he unfolds a bed, he wants to take a bath - he pulls out
a shower, he’s hungry-he orders McDonald’s food, he’s thirsty-he orders Coca Cola