SpaceTrader - Trading Waste for Shared Space

Energy

The challenge our world faces in climate change revolves largely around one major hurdle: energy. While many of the ideas regarding the reduction of carbon emissions revolve around cleaner ways to produce energy, the power of individuals to have an influence on carbon emissions lies in the consumption of energy, rather than its production.  When looking for a grassroots method to reduce emissions, focusing on the consumption of energy was a natural choice.

Of the carbon allocated to domestic functional uses, we use most of our energy on space heating (University of Surrey 2007). It is therefore important to discuss how we use the spaces provided for us, and whether there could be more efficient – and possibly more beneficial – ways of organizing the use of the spaces to which we already have access.

Mengestrasse 8, Wilhelmsburg

To gain a better understanding of the use of space and the ways to potentially improve it, we needed a “client” to study.  A large segment of the  Wilhelmsburg population lives in apartment buildings managed by the SAGA housing association. We chose to focus on one such building, and explored the use of space at the Mengestrasse 8 housing community.

Mengestrasse 8 is a typical 1970’s-built block house, which occupies only a sixth of its site. The rest of the the site is largely reserved for parking.  Additionally, there is a green area in front of the building with no direct access from the building itself, because the sole entrance is in the rear. There are two sizes of apartments, 30 and 64 square meters.

Through interviews with residents and administrators, we mapped the key issues regarding the usage of space. The apartments themselves were used intensively – some could even be considered over-crowded - so we decided to focus on the usage of common areas instead. We found that there was an imbalance between limited spaces in high demand, such as multi-purpose enclosed garages and playspace for children, and excessive spaces that are underutilized, such as unrented parking spaces and heated basement storage.

Residents put forth some ideas for how to better use the available spaces within the community.  For example, some mothers discussed the possibility of extending the play areas into the largely vacant parking areas.  Despite their awareness, the residents interviewed found it difficult to have their voices heard by SAGA.

A system to encourage space optimization

With this project, we aim to empower residents to explore the potential of the spaces to which they have access and to develop a more appropriate system of space valuation. This game will enable residents to trade spaces they do not make use of and create new usages for spaces that they feel is not optimally appropriated. The game encourages cooperation between many members of the community to reach common goals and to recognise the value of shared spaces. The program could help residents organize their ideas and preferences regarding the usage of space and thus make more efficient use of the spaces already provided.  If the residents themselves are able to create a structured proposal for the optimal use of common areas, there would be little reason for SAGA to decline.  Once successful, the game could be adapted to other SAGA houses across Wilhelmsburg.

How it works

All of the common spaces – the asphalt outdoor area, the green area, the storage units, the playspace and the roof – are made into resources by giving the control over these areas to the residents based on the size of their apartment.  Residents can then start trading access to these spaces based on what their own needs and preferences are. Someone might not need their storage space, but would like to be able to grow vegetables and would need to have access to a “plot” of their own on the green space. Another resident may not want to use the green area, and for them it could be more valuable to have access to a larger area of storage space for use as a workshop.

Residents can also suggest new uses to share with others, and by sharing gain access to a wider range of areas. The current model underutilizes shared spaces, and this program would be different by allowing varied functions and would provide the optimum use of space for each resident.

The benefit

The immediate benefit of the game would be an increase in awareness of the possibilities for collaborative consumption and sharing of space.  A more long term benefit would be improvement to the quality of life of the residents . However, this this not the sole aim.  Our motivation for this project was to improve energy usage.  By acknowledging the incredible amounts of energy wasted on heating unused spaces, we  are encouraging people to think about space as a valuable resource. Through this process, we hope we can influence the concept of space use as a whole. As time passes, wasting space could become as unthinkable as throwing aluminum cans in a regular bin, and collaborative space use would be as inherent and obvious as recycling.