Making Visible the Unspoken
Charrette group 518A: Water and Honesty
Our Charrette group adopted the characteristics of water in the execution of our design intervention. We liked the multiple natures of water- both calm and violent, refreshing yet forceful, allowing many entry points for the individual. We focused on the cumulative nature of water, understanding that a drop can create a ripple that can continue to grow in size and force.
In brainstorming virtues, we began to focus on honesty. We asked ourselves the question “What could acknowledgement do?” We saw several levels of honesty, from the individual level to social settings to the public. Honesty is a responsibility to oneself and a respect for others. We wanted to find a way to use honesty as a powerful tool to engage people in their lives, especially areas of life that go unacknowledged.
We then turned to find something important to Philadelphia, to identify the multiple layers of reality that exist. We agreed that homelessness, especially in the city’s parks, was an issue that could potentially benefit from some honest acknowledgement. By placing everyday home items in the park, including a pillow and sheet, bathroom supplies, and a dinner tray, we hope to have made people re-think these spaces and to have started water’s rolling potential to create social betterment."
