Human Collective Library
RSA, Planet Generation:
RSA, Planet Generation:
Reimagine ways of being and acting together that is fun, exciting and can develop and sustain deep relationships and a sense of solidarity across generations.
Introducing The Human Collective Library, a platform dedicated to the art of storytelling and fostering community connections. The essence of HCL lies in the power of sharing narratives, allowing individuals from diverse backgrounds to be heard and celebrated. Delving into stories from unfamiliar eras or stories connected to sentimental belongings provides a captivating experience, offering valuable insights and knowledge. With its array of events and dedicated spaces, the collective library serves as a vibrant hub for sharing these tales with others.
Introducing The Human Collective Library, a platform dedicated to the art of storytelling and fostering community connections. The essence of HCL lies in the power of sharing narratives, allowing individuals from diverse backgrounds to be heard and celebrated. Delving into stories from unfamiliar eras or stories connected to sentimental belongings provides a captivating experience, offering valuable insights and knowledge. With its array of events and dedicated spaces, the collective library serves as a vibrant hub for sharing these tales with others.
The three main goals of the Human Collective Library:
What’s is the HCL all about?
The Human Collective Library is all about sharing stories with others. There is so much to learn from other people within your local community it helps to give a voice to those from different backgrounds.
How does the HCL work?
Every month at the HCL a show and tell event is held. Each session is assigned a theme which encourages people of all ages to bring an object with personal sentimental value along. The object should have a connected story which you wish to share verbally with the attendees of the event. This is recorded and is then re-playable after the event in the exhibit space. The exhibit space showcases the objects for one month only after the show and tell event.
Facilitating deeper connections:
It’s encouraged that the local community come in at any time during the month to view the objects on display in the exhibit and listen to the stories on display. The exhibit allows for anotherway of connecting to your local community. It allows for attendees to learn about others in their community in their own time, the more relaxed less pressurised environment helps those who maybe don’t like the spotlight. It hopes to educate and facilitate common understanding and solidarity. The exhibit hopes to encourage people to come to the show and tell events and contribute with their own object and story adding to the HCL archive.
The Conversation pit:
The conversation pit is at the centre of the room, this is where the monthly hosted events take place. It has ample seating and an intimate design. Being slightly sunken within the floor it creates a feeling of closeness and togetherness. It features a podium for the object in discussion and a projector screen behind on the wall for any supporting photos that someone may wish to show whilst sharing their story.
How is this helping our users?
Here you can see one of our users named Willow, in her Ski kit above, showing off her Ski boots at the Human Collective Library. She loves to Ski as a hobby and the HCL is a great place for her to share this interest with the community, she has many great stories from her skiing holidays to share and the HCL has given her the platform to do so. The HCL also gives her the in her the confidence to share her skill with the community and find those who also love to ski or wish to pick up the hobby. Through the HCL willow finds new connections of all ages to share her hobby with.
Who runs the show and tell event?
The Human Collective Library is solely community run and thrives off volunteers. It is encouraged that people in the community with journalistic, historical or educational backgrounds volunteer and help host the show and tell event once a month. It’s understood that not everyone is a natural speaker, so it’s the hosts job to probe questions to really uncover the story behind the object.
The Archive:
The archive room is how the community can access the log of their communities stories. The archive wall stores all previous events audio recordings and photos of the objects. The archive wall allows those who didn’t attend the event to connect with different members of their community at anytime, any day. Over time it should create an extensive look into how the local community changes throughout time allowing for the youth to have a deeper understanding of the older community members.
The archive wall is a fully interactive experience with removable capsules that pull out of the wall. Removing a capsule is like unearthing a time capsule, your unsure but excited to see what it contains. Take the capsule over to the viewing podium and insert it into the capsule reader. The coloured ring should illuminate and the object should appear through the holographic viewing lens.
View the object in three dimensions like the object is really there. I designed this holographic experience so the user can have a better connection to the story being told, it adds an extra layer of interest and excitement that a 2D image could never achieve. Pickup the headphones attached to the podium and listen and connect with the story being told. Learn and get to know another person in your local community.
This is a test of how the hollogram is made:
An image is repeated four times around a clear either plastic or glass upside- down trapezium. This image can be animated creating the illusion of perspective.
An image is repeated four times around a clear either plastic or glass upside- down trapezium. This image can be animated creating the illusion of perspective.
How to form connections after the events:
After viewing and interacting with the exhibit or with the archive room, you may have listened to someone’s story and found that you have an emotional connection to it or maybe you have something in common and wish to contact them personally.
The connection booth allows for you to write in questions to the person and arrange meet-ups. Write your question on the provided question sheet and scan it in. On your return to the HCL a response should be waiting. You can also view all other questions and responses made.
The design of the question sheet uses the colours from the logo and uses the communication icon, reflecting that this is a communication device. After scanning into the connection booth stick the sheet up onto the wall.
After viewing and interacting with the exhibit or with the archive room, you may have listened to someone’s story and found that you have an emotional connection to it or maybe you have something in common and wish to contact them personally.
The connection booth allows for you to write in questions to the person and arrange meet-ups. Write your question on the provided question sheet and scan it in. On your return to the HCL a response should be waiting. You can also view all other questions and responses made.
The design of the question sheet uses the colours from the logo and uses the communication icon, reflecting that this is a communication device. After scanning into the connection booth stick the sheet up onto the wall.
The Connection Booths
Social Groups & Meet-ups:
It’s encouraged that you reach out to someone after attending the HCL whether that be after attending the show and tell event or after viewing the exhibit and archive room.
Using the HCL website or connection booth within the HCL people can arrange or join social groups. If enough people show an interest in someones story the story teller or the people interested can host a meet-up within the social space, to chat about either the story itself or maybe their hobbies and themselves. Its relaxed and unstructed and up to the people attending to guide the conversation.
The social space hopes to get people from all generations together in an environment that allows them to find people with similar interests. The meet-ups are hopefully just the first step of someone’s connection, and hopefully they will take their interest outside of the HCL and continue their new found friendship to new places. Like Willow who has connected with multiple people who felt a connection to her ski story of the Alps. Willow found Brian through his love of the Alps and his past career in photography that look him there. They and others now meet up every two weeks at the HCL.
Mini Model of the HCL:
The final mini model shows how the building and space would function in practise. The design is modern, sleek and open, with floor to ceiling windows which allow the outside light to flood into the space, making you feel connected to nature that surrounds the building.
The roof and second floor are removable this allows for easy viewing of each room within the model.
The social space overlooks the main room on the second floor keeping the area separate fro the main attractions, providing a specific area for meet-ups and activities without disrupting the exhibit space. The open design however reminds everyone where it all started. This two layered design also saves floor space keeping the buildings floor plan as small as possible.