A.B.C.D.E.‚ an open discussion on design process

The fortnight-long A.B.C.D.E. workshop organised by Amsterdam's Droog offered a chance to learn about different aspects of slums such as Dharavi. The designers and architects sought to lend form to an abstract diagram, based on a study of Indian mathematics, with the active involvement of the craft producers in Mumbai's Dharavi slum.

One aspect that did emerge was the great inventive, creativity and willingness of the local craftspeople, something often underestimated by the stereotypes of slums, a phenomenon that has, yet again, demonstrated the huge "store" of experience possessed by those living in them and, most importantly, their incredible capacity to adapt to any situation that seems different from their norm. Their great practicality enables slum inhabitants to lend form to abstract patterns that may be hard to interpret, and to do so very quickly. This speed of action inevitably influenced the normal way the designers who worked with the craftspeople approach certain objects or results.

The initiative prompted a fascinating relationship of joint-creation that saw, on the one hand, the designer's idea being quickly understood and absorbed then taken, manipulated and altered by practical experience of the highest degree; and, on the other, the creation of fine objects that were unique and could potentially be sold on the market, such as wallets made by leather workers.

This potential for sale is yet another demonstration of the people's ability to adapt to different contexts and situations, even when highly qualified figures such as designers and architects suddenly ask them to help create a new object. This all becomes possible when people are willing to adapt an approach that places the specialist know-how of the designer or architect on a par with the practical skills of a craftsperson, thus creating a horizontal communication and knowledge-sharing system. In these situations, the designer should also act as a coordinator, he who comes up with the idea and coordinates the artisan's practical inventive, and then tries to adapt it to the context. Unfortunately, this latter factor proved the main weakness in this initiative, which failed to create an "object" that would be useful to the Dharavi community.

Despite being of splendid manufacture and beautiful, the final objects produced and exhibited on the evening of the project-discussion unfortunately offer no common use for the local people except for their own sakes. Certainly, setting out to achieve a similar result in just two weeks was not easy and, perhaps, almost impossible despite Dharavi's ability to completely "engulf people" but, since one of its main characteristics is the great sense of community possessed by its inhabitants, conducting a project that does not take that into account is, in my humble opinion, a shortcoming. However, one important result was achieved, namely a concrete understanding of the great potential that exists and which will, perhaps in the future, lead to further projects that take the people that form this context into greater consideration.

Not being directly involved in this initiative offered me the chance, while doing other things in Dharavi, to explain what the workshop was doing and to hear very different opinions. The most widespread comment was that these Europeans were merely wasting their time. I was surprised by the firmness of the reply but I do agree with it. Their sense of community and hugely practical everyday lives justify and clarify this thought—and the need to always search for something that is tangible, practical and useful to them. Despite this, they are always open-minded and ready to collaborate and share their experience on new projects, something I can absolutely confirm on the basis of what I am doing here in Mumbai.

I would like to consider this workshop an unfinished project that needs to be further explored, studied and improved on, perhaps even more concretely via the involvement of the Dharavi population. Certainly, seeing so many young people arrive from Europe and other parts of India and be totally "engulfed" by Dharavi is an indication that everyone, including me, can ponder this experience in their everyday professional or university lives and always aim to generate "something" that really does help those who use it.
Francesco Galli

A.B.C.D.E.‚ an open discussion on design process
18 November 2011
Studio X Mumbai
Kitab Mahal, 4th Floor, 192 D.N.Road, Fort, Mumbai (adjacent to New Excelsior Cinema)

Project team
Director: Renny Ramakers (Droog)
Partner: Rajeev Thakker (Studio X Mumbai)
Media partner: Radhika Desai (Domus India)
Lead designer: Bas Princen
Design team: Quaid Doongerwala and Shilpa Ranade (DCOOP Architects), Ishan Khosla, Eric Klarenbeek, Jorge Mañes
Consultants: Ranjana Dani (MIT Institute of Design, Pune), Matias Echanove e Rahul Srivastava (URBZ), Rohan Shivkumar (architect), Lilet Breddels (Archis/Volume)
Content and project manager: Agata Jaworska (Droog)
Studio X team: Adrienne Thadani, Nicola Antaki, Soumya Raja
Support from: Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and City of Amsterdam