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- A environmental project designed to experiment with sociology and experience design.
The concept of this project is to create a people watching experience at Millwall Docks, London. The artificial wildlife and the astonishing view of Canary Wharf are the main selling points of the area. However, visitors mainly come to the area to see how people in the upper class live. Therefore, I decided to convert the area into a nature reserve. Visitors will come to observe specific types of people instead of animals. I designed an experience that involves observing the residents in their natural habitat- like the animals within a nature reserve.
Another factor that contributed to the development of the idea is that, as outsiders, we felt quite unwelcome in the area. This was due to the vast quantity of “residents only” signs, which are located all around the docks and the residential area. They made it feel as if we were not supposed to be there, and as if we were invading someone else’s space. However, the path around the dock is public property, which means we are allowed to walk around it/be there- just like the residents are. Although the path is technically public, the architectural Structures were designed to keep it private. There are no benches/space for visitors to stop that would allow you to spend more time there. People are only encouraged to walk in the same, monotonous route. The idea of people watching solves this issue by forcing visitors to focus on the site and the people inhabiting it. This means that the visitors will spend more time around the dock area, and will encourage them to walk in different patterns, as the residential areas are part of the suggested route. Even on the path around the quay, visitors will break the designed walking system, as they will stop or walk closer to certain houses to look for details or read information. These factors will all contribute to prolonging the experience of Millwall Docks.