Young people in Rotterdam South have a limited frame of reference. They lack exemplary functions and possibilities for participation due to the limited cultural facilities in South Rotterdam. As a result, these children are less stimulated to develop their own talents. By using art and culture at district level, the youth in the Tarwewijk area can be better guided in their search for their own talents, which can lead to better opportunities in the labour market. Anne-Sophie Wouters' graduation project 'Talent Lab Tarwewijk' serves as a platform to bring together the needs of the youth and cultural network of Rotterdam.
Campus Tarwewijk
Context
Tarwewijk is situated in a promising location in Rotterdam South: the district forms a triangle between the new Heart of South, the future Culture Campus on South (planned at Charloisse Hoofd), and the Maassilo. All three locations play a prominent role in cultural developments in Rotterdam South. The NPRZ (National Programme for the South of Rotterdam) also offers the district new opportunities. The extension of learning time, which will come into effect in September 2019, will provide room for 10 extra teaching hours per week at primary schools. This is aimed at broadening perspectives through sport and culture. The question for Tarwewijk is: how can these opportunities be optimally utilised?
Research
The research revealed two clear problems that hamper the young people of Tarwewijk from taking advantage of their opportunities:
- Threshold fear due to the (social and spatial) distance from the cultural network
- A limited frame of reference because cultural education is limited to within the walls of the classroom
The planned cultural facilities are located on the outskirts of the district and are on a large scale. This makes them difficult to reach for the youth of Tarwewijk: due to their age and limited social network, they are very dependent on their immediate surroundings. Interviews with young people and culture/neighbourhood experts show that both the spatial and social distance from cultural facilities create barriers for the youth to participate in cultural activities.
On the other hand, the newly offered extension of learning time is easily accessible to young people due to its direct connection to schools. However it limits cultural education to within school walls. As a result, the current implementation of these extra teaching hours does not contribute to broadening the reference framework for young people, which is an important factor in stimulating talent development.
In order to overcome the threshold fear experienced by young people, opportunities and chances must become visible in the neighbourhood itself. There needs to be room for young people to take their own initiative and programmes organised that they feel close to. By organising education outside the classroom, young people can connect with role models and the city's cultural network. Responding to learning through experience-based learning should be the starting point here: give the young people more room to experiment and discover, talent development will be strengthened.
Design
The design for the Talent Lab that has emerged from these conclusions and aims to both strengthen the talent development of young people and to improve the public space in the neighbourhood. Most of the public spaces are now undefined; adding specific activities and user groups gives them meaning. This creates a stage, a playground, an exhibition, etc. Each place has its own character but is constructed from the same recognisable element: the Urban Framework.
The Mijnsherenplein, the design location, is the most public in these public places. It is located in the middle of the district, where many different residents and visitors from inside and outside Tarwewijk come together. This public character is used and reinforced in the Talent Lab, which functions as a platform for youth, role models and cultural network to connect to each other.
To ensure that a visit to the Talent Lab actually becomes a learning experience, the design is based on the principles of an experience-based learning process. This form of learning requires a number of specific components: stimuli, experiences, reflection and memory; the experience of the building follows these steps.
- The basis of the design is to overcome the fear of thresholds. A transparent, public gallery provides new stimuli. By using the artist-in-residence principle, role models are given the opportunity to develop themselves, while they form a landmark for youth and provide social control. A café and neighbourhood kitchen provide a connection with the young people who are not intrinsically motivated to visit a cultural facility, but who are looking for a place of their own in the neighbourhood.
- The second layer of the building consists of four rooms of different experiential qualities: a library, various creator-spaces, a space for movement and a theatre. Each room is designed with the aim of learning different tools needed for cultural expression. They are different in form, light and materiality ensures that the senses are constantly being stimulated, which enhances the experience.
- These rooms of experience are connected by the reflection zone: a continuous space that provides a place to relax, meet and talk about the experience.
- The tools learned can then be applied by making something yourself and showing it to others: applying something for yourself is how the memory is created. This will take place on the ground floor as an exhibition space next to the gallery: in this way the new projects of the youth function again as a stimulus for others and the circle is complete.