Youth in Action: To create better spaces, non-profit group spends less time on drawing board, more time listening
As part of a series to highlight youth activism, TODAY speaks to young people in Singapore who are not only passionate and vocal about social issues, but are driving positive change through their actions. In this instalment, the founders of Participate in Design talk about working with the community and designing to their needs.
As part of a series to highlight youth activism, TODAY speaks to young people in Singapore who are not only passionate and vocal about social issues, but are driving positive change through their actions. In this instalment, the founders of Participate in Design talk about working with the community and designing to their needs.
- Participate in Design (P!D) collaborates with a community to come up with designs that meet the needs of those using it
- Founded by then-National University of Singapore architecture students Mizah Rahman and Jan Lim in 2012, it is now a five-man team and has 900 volunteers
- P!D executive director Larry Yeung says youths can play a role in shaping Singapore’s future by volunteering and engaging with the community to listen to their needs
SINGAPORE — When the senior citizens who gathered at the Pacific Activity Centre at Fajar Spring found out that their senior activity centre was going to be converted into a community kitchen, many feared that they would not have space to play their favourite activity — Bingo.
However, through a number of engagement sessions to allow senior citizens to co-design the space, the team at non-profit design consultancy Participate In Design (P!D) designed a flexible kitchen with parts that could be moved around to ensure a variety of activities could take place in the same space. The project was completed in December 2017.
“The P!D personnel took time to understand what the seniors wanted, in a project that encapsulates what we are about,” said P!D’s executive director, Mr Larry Yeung, 32.
P!D advocates “participatory design”, which means involving various stakeholders in a community, such as residents and businesses, in the design of creations, thereby maximising their use and longevity.
Besides doing some of the design work, P!D also acts as the middleman between stakeholders, conducting research with members of the community and bringing the results to clients and architects for execution.
P!D was conceived in 2010 by then-National University of Singapore architecture students Mizah Rahman and Jan Lim, who were doing a master’s thesis on participatory design and the relationship between architecture and community participation in the MacPherson public housing estate.
Mizah, who died in May this year from cancer, and Ms Lim, 33, started P!D in 2013 as a community group, organising small community events in MacPherson.
Two years later, P!D became a non-profit design consultancy after the duo were approached by Ms Tin Pei Ling, the Member of Parliament for the ward, to create a community space in an unused plot between two blocks of Housing and Development Board flats in Aljunied Crescent.
“I had this desire to rejuvenate the estate and they had also wanted to do something at the empty space, so I thought why not collaborate and create something,” said Ms Tin. She added that the engagement process conducted by P!D and subsequent completion of the project have enhanced the sense of community within the estate.
The project, known as Welcome to Our Backyard, features a community garden and swings where young and old can meet.
The decision to have a community garden and swings came about after discussions with residents, grassroots leaders, seniors and staff of the nearby Geylang East Home for the Aged, said Mr Yeung.
It was the first major project undertaken by P!D. Since then, the consultancy has grown into a team of five along with a network of more than 900 volunteers, including 80 regulars.
Mr Yeung, who joined in 2016, said the organisation has over the years diversified its portfolio beyond urban planning to include community education and interior design.
This includes working with the Ministry of Health and the Health Promotion Board to improve diabetes reference materials, as well as upgrading community kitchens for seniors in the Taman Jurong and Telok Blangah estates.
P!D also has several ongoing projects despite the Covid-19 pandemic, including a neighbourhood renewal programme with Nee Soon Town Council, as well as community-related projects in Telok Blangah.
Despite a growing number of projects, Mr Yeung said that he and his colleagues still face the challenge of convincing people “who do not believe in the process”.
“Some clients come with their minds made up on what they feel is best and, while they do engage with us, it can seem like tokenism,” he said.
He added that P!D had previously ended partnerships with clients who prefer a top-down approach instead of a bottom-up one.
Mr Yeung said citizens are not “mere consumers when it comes to creating a better Singapore for all of us”.
“We need collaboration between everyday Singaporeans and experts to create something more meaningful, to foster a sense of pride and ownership.”
Youths play a big role in shaping and co-creating the future of Singapore, he said, but some may not know where to begin.
“All big things start small — I think youths can start out by volunteering more and taking the first steps in talking to our communities, understanding their needs, so that they can envision where they see themselves contributing in the long run using their skills.”
P!D takes in volunteers on a project basis and more information can be found on its website.