16.08.2010
Experiment One
Throwing paper planes in a public space inside an office building complex in Gurgaon around lunch time
Aim- To observe how people working in those offices engaged in the activity and used the public space differently.
13 agents dressed up in office clothes spread themselves in a huge structure in the middle of the office complex and randomly threw paper planes over a course of half an hour. The three of us who were diagramming the area, mapping the change in movement and assessing the impact of this random act in a public spaces observed some interesting things.
The maximum movement of people in the building was seen between 1:30 and 1:50 pm. Almost everyone passing by looked, some in amusement, some amazed and most of them confused at the occurrence of such an event. About 35-40% of these people actually sat down or stood around for approximately four to five minutes to watch. 5-7 people sitting in and around that area participated and actually had fun doing something as goofy as throwing paper planes. However this participation was much less than what it could have been considering the large number of people who stood around the central structure and watched from surrounding green areas.
The other great part about this act was the response and the personal encounters that all of us faced. I was asked if I worked in one of these buildings and was also informed by someone who had been working there for the past five years that this was the first time he saw something so crazy happening. After a brief discussion with some of his colleagues, he concluded that the people throwing paper planes had all got fired from the same office there and were doing this as a strike to get back at their boss!
In my opinion, this office complex which is busy almost all the time and sees a lot of activity and movement throughout the day experienced a pleasant change where people actually sat around in groups and used the public area for longer periods than they usually do. Some more such interventions at different times in this area could prove to be very useful in activating this vast unused public space.
Aayushi
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ReplyDeletewe are not really sure about the fact that whether people do or do not sit in that space longer than they usually do other than the day we went there...our flashmob cannot be entirely creditted for that..it might just be basically due to the pleasant weather...yes we surely were successful in catching their attention..but whether it really left an impact on them or not is still dicey..
ReplyDeletegeetanjali
today in the design studio, we even talked about the potential modifications that we could have made to make this event more successful..
ReplyDeletei particularly think that we could have spent some time in the area just outside the office complex also including the fenced green patch. this area was still flooded with the office crowd and lower class people due to the tea and cigarette stalls...it would have been interesting to see the reaction of the guards if we did something responsibly in that green patch which was nicely manicured!
although the crowd inside the office had died down around 2 but i still could see a lot of people around this area..while leaving after our event was over..
here we could have got more crowd to target on with more variety of people and it would have been easier to catch their attention in this comparitively compact area!!
well..we still have a long way to go..hope to see a better response the next time!!