Community-
driven design

In this course at HMKW in Berlin, students developed concepts to help Schindler Deutschland launch their mobile FlexPoint containers that help maintenance technicians at Schindler to save time and reduce CO2 emissions in the city.

With a starting point in community-driven design, the students explored how design can have a positive impact on society when residents are actively involved in the process. Through interviews, surveys, and observations the students mapped out the current needs of the target group, and through participatory design, they could create future scenarios that serve both users and the commissioner. As the challenge related to people, space, interaction, and experiences, prototyping and material exploration played an important role in the project. The students used the prototypes not only to develop ideas throughout the course but also as a means to involve and discuss ideas with the clients.

The project was carried out in collaboration with Schindler Deutschland, C4Berlin, and inno2grid.

Student work by Riccardo Carrara, Stef Djohan, Luz Kawas, Lena Kremp, Chamodi Mallika, Caterina Marini, Dayani Muñoz, Henry Ofori, Salvador Padilla, Diya Pinto, Stephen Sarfo-Kantanka and Ankita Wadke.