TASKS: JMU/ MP Feedback from the Lloyds Corner Event

JMU
1. What was successful about the making event and What could be improved?

It was good to all be doing something in a room together, the process allowed us to have a think about what it was we wished to achieve.

I think the weaknesses were that we needed to plan what we were making before hand and be clear as to what we were bringing along and to have designed the objects beforehand so they looked more professional / were an appropriate scale/ made the impact we desired. It was suggested that we use the blog to have this conversation about what we would make, what materials we needed and who would do what but this was not an effective tool in this circumstance as no one used it; perhaps a meeting finalising a list of things and assigning tasks would have been useful in this case.

I think it is a balance however between people feeling that this group becomes too onerous in terms of commitment and making sure we achieve what we set out to do. Please give me feedback in this respect.

2. What was successful about the Lloyds corner event and what could be improved?

The event was very visible, people had detailed conversations about specific ideas rather than generalised ones, and we monitored movement through the site.

It is worth keeping in mind that:
i. Some of the more successful ideas may have been popular because they were good engagement techniques, not necessarily because they are right for the site.
ii. we have only gathered info from one time of day, day of the week and two months of the year (both cold!)

3. What key things did you learn from the event that could inform the brief?

i. That an intervention which has in built flexibility/ provides a space for people to hold events or play would be popular. People would like to see lots of different things happening here and to be able to make their own mark. (it was key on the route of The Chinese New Year Dragon for example and could also be important for the Lantern Carnival.)

ii. That the routes through the site are important and must be kept clear.

iii. Signposting here would be popular and useful and could be a way of promoting the things that Sharrow has to offer such as Mount Pleasant Park, the Mosque, Stag Works, Bramall Lane, the library, etc etc


4. How could we publicise the blog more widely?

Posters in local shops could be a good way to do so and I have made some initial enquiries about linking this in with other information that is going out to shops along London road and Abbeydale Road- I will keep you updated on this.

If anyone fancies either designing a flyer or writing a line or two for the flyer explaining who we are/ what we do that would be great…


5. What information are we currently missing that we need to inform the development of the brief for the site? ( I am currently compiling technical information from officers etc about the services, listing of the lamppost and streetforce/ highways)

I will arrange a meeting with highways, planning and the landscape architect who deals with section 106 allocation in order to fill out the gaps in our knowledge. However we need an outline brief and our research collated prior to this. This should be the key aim of our next meeting.

MP Feedback

Making session:
This was fun but I thought severely limited in terms of where we did it – having little access to water for instance for washing and cleaning was a real pain - also materials, would have been much easier to use a wooden floor (or have a tarpaulin!) I know I could have brought more stuff like that but had not known what to expect.
Also, we did forget stuff to take to the event (the painted “planters”) -needed a check list of what we had made or brought beforehand to take to the actual event.

A good event in terms of people’s energy, though.

The Event
Coloured stepping stones, hopscotch, dance steps –these are what I noticed people of all ages really getting into – quite spontaneously and with no need for them to be explained or signposted.
Choreography of moving through these different kinds of pavement “interventions” – could be used by anyone including physically /visually impaired.
So the way people enjoyed being led or entertained as they travel through the area was the main thing I noticed, and as a result I think that some kind of pathway design would probably be the most effective and economical use of the space.