Responsive Environments

Edinburgh Napier University / 2016 / Responsive Environments

[botanicexperience-blog]

Everyone leaving the park once the sun disappears.

[botanicexperience-blog]

Interview 3

When the hailstones came on I went to the pub to meet my friend and then once it cleared up we went back to the park so I could get my last interview. There was a woman sitting on a bench throwing a ball back and forward for her dog, so I went over and spoke to her.

M: So… How often do you come to botanics?

3: Eh I walk Rhona (her dogs name) about… 4 times a week, my husband takes her the rest, so yeah around 3-4 times a week.

M: Do you come here just to walk her or do you ever visit for anything else?

3: Well, em, before we got Rhona we used to just walk through every so often in the summer, I like to just sit and read a book or watch the world go by. Sometimes we take the grandkids to the park just up the top there when we babysit for my son.

M: Aw that’s nice, so what…

3: Oh, and I meet some of the girls in the wee coffee shop over there when we are all free.

M: I’ve never been inside is it nice?

3: Oh yes… it’s lovely inside, and they have a courtyard out the back you can sit there in the summer, oh but sorry dear, what were you going to ask?

M: Oh yeah, em, is there anything you think the park is lacking, like eh, something that would improve it for you, and make you wanna visit more?

3: Hmm, I don’t really know what else a park needs apart from a playground and grass *laughs*, let me think…

M: Yeah just anything really, like the last guy I spoke to said a big wall for kids and stuff to draw on.

3: I’m not sure how that would really fit in a place like this, i’m probably a bit too out of touch for that *haha*…

M: *Laughs* Of course not…

3: Ah!… you know what would be good? Something to make people clean up after themselves, leaving dogs muck after them and cigarettes all over the ground. That would be really useful… no matter how many bins are around people are still too lazy to use them…

M: Yeah I um see that all the time, its like one of my pet hates, but to be honest I don’t really think there are enough bins around here.

3: Just carry it until you find one, anyway i’m rambling on *haha*.

M: Umm, so are there any other similar places you visit, or do you just prefer, like, coming here?

3: Eh, well, I’m getting on a bit now so I try to stay nearish home if I can, but when my husbands got the car we’ll go to Kelvingrove or Glasgow Green, do you know it? It’s got the peoples palace which looks pretty similar to here actually…

M: No! I’ve actually never been, I never really venture to that side of Glasgow…

3: Ohh… You should really try make a point of going, its a nice wee day out

M: Sure, uh yeah, I am definitely going to make a point of going this summer. So is there anything there that makes it better than here?

3: Well really it’s just bigger, and further away from the roads so I always feel a bit safer letting her run around wild *calls to her dog*, yeah…

M: Sadly I don’t have a dog to take with me…

3: Well its fun for humans too *laughs*

M: Um… Yeah I think that’s me… Well yeah uh thanks for your time.

3: Oh okay, you’re very welcome, I best be getting her off home, it’s getting awfully chilly.

[botanicexperience-blog]

My Last Visit

Wednesday 30th March

3:15pm - I just got here and there is a bride and groom having photos taken on the grass, they most likely came across from the Oran Mor. They are very lucky that it’s such a sunny day.

It’s really warm so I’m able to take off my jacket and cardigan and put my sunglasses on, but I seem to be the only one wearing them.

3:23 - There are loads of couples out for a romantic stroll.

3:32 - Two cars have just parked directly in front of me, which is very helpful…

3:46 - The clouds have just come out and covered up the sun and everyone has quickly dispersed.

3:55 - There are lots of budding photographers taking photos of flowers, the sky, etc. I should ask them for tips as I just tried to take photos and my settings made the pictures just come out as a blank white screen.

4:02- Lots of people stopping on benches for a scenic cigarette, some just sitting staring at their phone screens. Haven’t seen them glance up even once.

Some stragglers in school uniforms walking through, I think schools in the west end finish at 3 as hundreds of them run at me as I got off the subway.

Kids chasing pigeons, grandparents walking with prams, dog walkers and cyclists - but no joggers today…

4:12 - Getting some raindrops on my notepad so I packed up my stuff, just as I’m walking out hailstones start, and I don’t have a hood. Bloody Glasgow. I hope the newlyweds managed to get out of there before me.

[botanicexperience-blog]

A Drunken Friday Night

Friday 25th March

As the nights are now longer and brighter I’m hoping to see more people  using the park and walking through. The park will probably be open until  around 9-ish tonight, that’s around when the sun is meant to set.

It is 6:55 and still a nice bright evening, botanics are just off of Byers Road which has lots of bars and restaurants, including the Oran Mor which is always packed on a Friday evening with people coming in after work.

7:05 - Surely enough there are lots of couples and groups all dressed up walking through the park, all towards the main entrance/exit so I can only assume they are going out for the night.

7:16 - There are a few people sitting on benches nearby me, having a few sly sips out of some bottles, and some walking past not even trying to conceal their bottles of Budweiser and Buckfast.

7:21 - Most of the people sitting near me were just waiting for their friends to come and meet them so I’m one of very few still sitting alone with a notepad. A drunk group of guys walked past me shouting something unintelligible, it’s amazing how early some people get drunk just cause it’s the easter weekend.

7:35 - An older woman and a young guy ran through the park, he was quite obviously a personal trainer as he was very in shape and egging the woman on. Quite an oxymoron for the stuff going on around about them.

7:46 - There is a large group of smartly dressed older guys that are pretty rowdy obviously desperate to get to the pub to celebrate their bank holiday. I can overhear them talking about their work and their wives.

7:57 - Lots of dog walkers out tonight, but for some reason I never really see dogs being let off the leash, very few anyway. I don’t really understand why because the big open space park is right in front of me.

8:05 - It’s as though there’s a full moon every time there’s a bank holiday, there’s always one guy trying to carry his drunk girlfriend/wife home when he can barely stand up himself. The west end does attract some interesting sights…

8:21 - There are still lots of people passing by, though by this time more are clearly going back home or elsewhere from Byers Road, I imagine people have been drinking since lunchtime cause it looks that way.

[botanicexperience-blog]

Sunday 20th March

It is 10am and it was meant to be really warm today, unfortunately it is pretty freezing a the moment and raining. I’m trying to keep hold of an umbrella and type at the same time - I can’t write in my notebook cause its too wet and windy.

10:10 - The glasshouses and tearooms have not long been open so people are just beginning to venture their way in. They are the only place to really get any shelter so I assume they’ll be getting pretty busy.

10:24 - Lots of people with umbrellas up walking past, no doubt thinking i’m a weirdo for sitting here alone in the rain. Everyone is walking pretty quickly to get shelter from the rain, and the people without umbrellas sprinting ahead.

10:45 - The rain has finally stopped and it seems as though it might actually clear up a little and be an okay day. Maybe I should give apple weather more of a chance. The benches are all still soaked though so no one taking a seat yet.

10:53 - More families are coming through now, as well as some dog walkers and couples out for a stroll.

11:08 - I was hoping to see lots of people in the park today but the weather hasn’t been too kind and maybe it is just too early, everyone wants a long lie on a Sunday.

[botanicexperience-blog]

A Sunny Day in Glasgow!

Monday 14th March

Hallelujah! the sun is finally out, so I’m hoping to see a much busier park and lots more activities.

It was difficult to get my bench today cause it was so packed with people trying to get in a few hours of sunshine for the first time this year, it is actually t-shirt weather! Well maybe for about twenty minutes and then the wind comes and it’s a bit bitter.

12:34 - There are lots of picnic blankets and jackets laid out over the grass for people to lie on, every other person has their sunglasses on and everyone seems in a much better mood. It’s even making me feel much better which I never thought would happen today.

12:42 - I’ve just realised that my camera is out of battery so that’s a bit of a bummer. The park is thriving, school kids are sitting on the grass eating their lunch, the glasshouses are getting lots of visitors. It must be sweltering inside, everyone is coming outside looking like a buckaroo holding all their layers.

12:56 - I’ve noticed lots of people reading, sketching, painting as well as taking photographs, it seems the sun inspires people to get creative. I even tried a few sketches myself but I won’t embarrass myself by posting them…

1:18 - I’m getting a few questionable looks every time I light a cigarette, normally from older women and mothers with young kids; apparently this isn’t a public place.

1:29 - My brother and his girlfriend have just come along with her parents border collie Milo to come take him for a walk, and pick me up to take me with them to the beach. I have a wee play with the dog which gets me talking to other dog owners, then they go a walk around the park to let me finish up my notes.

1:41 - It has gotten quieter now, I think people are just starting to release that it is not quite yet summer. Some brave people are still there with trouser legs rolled up and sleeves down trying to catch some early year rays.

1:46 - My brother has come back to get me and we’re taking the dog to Balmaha so I can get some fun in the sun as well, it would be just my luck for it to disappear now. 

[botanicexperience-blog]

Friday 4th of March

It is 9:45 and I’m back again for the first time in March, unfortunately my hopes for the weather to pick up haven’t quite come to fruition yet, but I’m definitely not going to be finding my fingers too numb to hold my pen this time. 

The glasshouses and tearooms open at 10am so there are a lot of staff coming in to unlock and set up, as well as park staff unlocking the glasshouses for visitors arriving. 

10:03 - I am quite surprised at the amount of people who have come to see the glasshouses already, I think a few of them had maybe come earlier and realised they weren’t open for another wee while. 

10:12 - There is a group of young mums with prams walking towards the tearooms, I presume they’re going for a coffee morning which is apparently a necessity for young mums these days. 

10:33 - I can see a big group of men and women in fluorescent clothes running towards me, I think it must be one of those organised group activity jogging things. I’m partially deafened as the group of around 20 jog past chatting laughing and panting, I think they may be retirees from the snippets of conversation I could onto.

10:47 - There are a few brief splits in the clouds where the sun is shining through, a few older couples have been walking through and going into the tearooms. Haven’t seen anyone emerge from there yet. There are lots of people walking their dogs, a few letting them off the lead to play fetch, one man seems exhausted after running about after his mischievous labrador. 

[botanicexperience-blog]

Inspiration and Ideas So Far

As I’ve hit the halfway mark in my observations I thought I would have a bit of a brainstorm and explain some of ideas and throught processes so far.

One of the first ideas that srpung to mind was the mobile app “Zombies, Run!”, it is an app that encourages joggers to run faster and for longer periods of time. It does this by asking the user to put earphones in and the app plays a simulated story about the user being in a zombie epidemic, in order to increase their fitness.

It is a fun and unique idea to get people fit as well as being part of a story, and this gave me the idea for a form of interactive game or competition for joggers who run in the park to be a part of.

In the meadows in Edinburgh there is a strip that lies along the bicycle lane and counts how many cyclists have used it in that present day and over the current year. This is an interesting installation, however, it does not provide much interactivity of motivation to get more people cycling.

I was thinking that I could use this premise to develop a similar installation that would include a screen with records of joggers. Joggers could pick up a fob or enter a unique code, and it would record how long it takes them to run around a specific track in the park, (this would require GPS). This could be turned into a game, people could have avatars that they create at home and compete with other joggers throughout the day. It could also make people be more inclined to chat to one another, and offer to race eachother etc.

Graffiti walls and art murals are always a great addition into any community, as it encourages people to create art legally and mix with others to create something beautiful. I could develop on this or maybe even incorporate this into the jogging system. For example, the wall has a projector that shows the joggers avatars running around the park, and people could stick things onto their paths, and draw around the scenery. This definitely needs more thought but it could create something very fun and unique.

[botanicexperience-blog]

Tuesday 23rd of February

This will be my last obsevation in February because I’m going to be ridiculously busy the next week and hopefully by the the start of March the weather will have cleared up.

So it’s 8:30am and I’ve just arrived, it’s freezing and the ground is still frosty. But of course there are much more motivated and early risers than me out jogging, and a man out with his personal trainer. The tearooms and the glasshouses don’t open until 10am so I can’t get a nice warm cup of coffee.

I assume there must be a primary school nearby because there are lots of parents walking through with their children in a school uniform but I’m not sure where for. It’s pretty much all school kids, parents, cyclists and joggers up until 9:15. But by then the late stragglers are all running because they’re late for school.

The parents who dropped off their kids off are all walking back through the park, lots of them chatting to each other about their weekends and their kids, a few mentioning going to yoga class and coffee mornings; I am definitely in the west end... 

There really isn’t much else going on, so I am starting to think more about my design fiction. I think that the graffiti wall is quite a nice idea, but obviously has already been done and isn’t entirely interactive. Kids use this park quite a lot, but having seen this today it is normally just passing through with their parents so can’t stop to play, so if I made something aimed at children it would only really be used in the summer or after school for a small period of time.

The joggers, however, have been constant in all of my observations and taking some inspiration from the meadows, and the bicycle counter, I think something similar could be interesting.

[botanicexperience-blog]

Interview 2

M: Me, K: Kat, 2: Interviewee 2

M: What’s your name sorry?

?: Oh sorry, it’s ..., and yours?

M: I’m Louise

K: I’m Kat

M: So how often do you visit the botanic gardens?

2: Eh, well I work in a cafe just on Byer’s road and it’s the easiest path to take, so I’d say about 4/5 times a week depending on my shifts.

M: Do you ever use it for anything else other than just passing through?

2: Well in the summer they have these, like, plays on…

M: Oh Shakespeare in the Park?

2: Yeah, something like that, have you been?

M: Yeah I saw A Midsummer Night’s Dream a few years back, I was quite young though so didn’t have a clue what was going on.

Sorry carry on you were telling me what you did here for fun

(Later discovered it is actually called Bard in the Botanics)

2: Yeah well me and my girlfriend went to one last year, the Merchant of Venice, she studies English lit at Glasgow so took me along, it was pretty fun actually.

M: Yeah theres always stuff on in the summer, it’s a pity theres nothing at the moment for me to write about.

2: *laughs* yeah it’s pretty shit in the winter, I like just chilling on a bench or on the grass in the sun.

M: Yeah, not as good as KG* in the summer though.

2: *laughs* The police are a nightmare now though, since people set that bin on fire and the street party

M: The party was definitely worth it though *laughs*

K: Aw I remember that! That was such a funny day.

2: Yeah man loads of us went along, shit kicked off though not long after we got there.

M: Yeah it turned into a bit of a nightmare, but sorry onto my next question.

2: No bother

M: Eh, where was I? Oh yeah… is there anything you think could improve the park?

2: Uh, sorry what do you mean?

M: So just now there’s like a play park, and a cafe, and the glass houses and stuff, but is there anything you’d like to see that would improve it for you?

2: A skatepark could be pretty cool, or like a graffiti wall, cause the west end is pretty arty and it’d be a fun thing for people to get involved with. Yeah just that kinda thing really…

M: Great thanks, yeah that could be cool the graffiti wall, I think lots of people would be against the skatepark though.

2: Haha yeah probably

M: Have you noticed anything interesting in the park? Like anything you hadn’t seen before, or places being used for things they shouldn’t?

2: Well me and my mates sometimes sit in the park at night and smoke a joint or drink, I’m guessing that’s pretty frowned upon *laughs*. But I mean it’s always after the kids are gone.

Shit sorry, I better run, hope you got what you wanted!

M: Aw sorry for keeping you, cheer for your help!

K: Bye!

*Kelvingrove

[botanicexperience-blog]

Thursday 18th of February

5:13 - I came today on my way home from university to get an observation in late before they shut the gardens. It was still surprisingly light considering the time and time of year. The sun was just beginning to go down as I took my seat on the all too familiar bench, got out my notepad and pen and a coffee.

5:20 - My friend has come along with me and has just got a new phone so she is trying out all the new features and taking lots of selfies beside me. The glass houses are stilll only open until 4:30pm so there isn’t much movement around them. There are lots of people walking their dogs, and i’m trying to get a few pats in every so often.

5:33 - The sun is just about gone, I light a cigarette and a young guy comes over to ask if he can borrow my lighter, my friend tries to flirt with him a little and he sits down. I take this opportunity to ask him some questions, and be a third wheel...

I will post my interview in a separate post, we chatted for 20 minutes and then he had to go to work.

5:57 - We see the parks security begin to make a sweep of the park to check is there are many people left inside, and from previous experience of being locked in this park I know that he will be going to lock up the furthest away gates. This gives us about twenty minutes before closing time.

6:18 - The guard comes up to us and tells us the park is shutting in ten minutes, I think he is pretty desperate to get home as fast as possible so we pack up our stuff and leave.

[botanicexperience-blog]

Tuesday 9th of February

I came here today at 4:41pm because I wanted to see if it would be busier at rush hour. So far it is quiet, with a few students taking photos and snacking on the benches next to me. There are lots of mothers pushing prams and chinese tourists wandering around with cameras. The glasshouses shut at half past four and people keep on attempting to get in, then stop and look confused, and stand scratching their heads for a while, before leaving the way they came.

5:03 and there are lots of joggers running through, on all my visits it’s not gone twenty minutes without someone jogging through. I am beginning to think that my design fiction should be something to do with aiding or making a game/competition for the joggers.

5:11 - It is getting quite dark, and as the sun is going down the sky and clouds are making some lovely colours so I take some photographs. I notice I am not the only one, above I have taken a photo of a gentleman taking photographs on his phone of the sky. I can only imagine they will be uploaded onto instagram later that night under the hashtags “skyporn” and “cloudporn”.

It is an interesting thing to observe in people today, instead of just apprectiating what is infront of them, they whip out their camera phone and stick it on the internet, despite the fact that probably everyone else who would look at it will have already seen it. I am definitely guilty of it, how else would I get more followers...

5:29 - I notice a young girl and boy running about with a DSLR camera giggling and taking photographs of eachother. I go for a nosy while taking photos on my own camera, they have nearly covered an entire bench full of shopping bags. I make light conversation with them and they tell me they are studying photography at college, and thought they’d come into botanics on their way home from town while the lighting was good.

5:45 - It is nearly pitch black now and my hands and ears are just about numb, the photography students decided they couldnt get any more photos after the sun went down and left. It’s even quieter now, I was expecting to see quite a few suits walking home from work but no such luck. 

5:56 - The botanic gardens are definitely a bit wasted in the winter, people don’t want to hang around for too long, and as they shut earlier in the winter it is more of a route rather than a destination. As we near spring hopefully I will be able to observe some more interesting behaviour as the nights get brighter.

[botanicexperience-blog]

My Second Visit

Saturday 6th of February I decided I'd make my second visit at the weekend in the hopes that there would be a wider variety of people and things to see. The time is 11:13 and the weather is cold and cloudy with some varied showers, which is making it quite difficult to write my notes down. My bench is pretty wet so I've had to sit on one nearby where I can still see the same space. There are loads of families wandering in and out of the glasshouses and kids running riot across the grass. One family settled down on a bench across from me and started to unpack their lunch, after about ten minutes the rain began again and they were scrambling to get everything back in the bag. 11:39 - Even more families wander through and lots of couples, also a few hungover looking teenagers drinking orange juice and having to recuperate on a bench every so often. 11:51 - I saw a man hiding in the bushes when I walked in talking to himself so I went a wee walk past him again to see what he was up to. I've worked out he's trying to entice some squirrels to eat out of his hand. There are hundreds of squirrels running about, one even jumped up on the end of my bench until a child ran up to it and scared it off... 12:10 - The weather has taken a turn for the worst so like everyone else in the park I'm going to head off. I'm starting to think that I'll never see the full potential of this park due to the crappy weather of Glasgow. Hopefully in my next visit it will pick up and I'll be needing my sunglasses.

[botanicexperience-blog]

My First Interview

I had the chance to talk to a Glasgow university student on her break from the library; she lives nearby in Hyndland.

Me : Hi ..., how often do you visit the botanic gardens?

1 : Mostly, I think it’s just, like passing through to be honest.

Me : Where to go to?

1 : Maybe coming from Maryhill road, like, down towards my flat. If it’s this sort of weather it is quite nice to come for a walk, but a lot of the time obviously in Glasgow it’s not the kind of weather to just stroll through the park.

Me : What do you use the space for?

1 : Probably just like relaxing if it’s sunny

Me : Have you been to see the plants and the pond?

1 : I think I’ve only actually been in there once or twice, but, it’s nice.

Me : Is there anything that you think would benefit this space more that you would use?

1 : Hmm, I don’t think so, I think it’s really old so to do anything too drastic to it would ruin it a bit

Me : Thanks for you time

After this short interview I came to the conclusion that when creating my design fiction, I would have to respect that this is a very important part of the city of Glasgow and it would probably do well to not make it too obnoxious so to respect the landscape and frequent visitors.

[botanicexperience-blog]

Tuesday 2nd of February

The past few days have been very wet and windy and so I wasn’t expecting many people to be out and about, students were the majority of visitors that day. Over the course of the hour I spent sitting on the bench at 2pm there were many dog walkers and a lot of groups of mothers with prams, among the students, nothing out of the ordinary.

I saw builders surveying the glasshouses and an older woman photographing the park, as well as students like myself sitting sketching and writing. Most of the people I observed stayed no longer than 20 minutes, no doubt due to the cold and wind.

By 2:30pm the visitors became sparse as the lunch period was over, more young mothers appeared as well as grandparents taking their grandchildren out for the day.

[botanicexperience-blog]

This is the spot I finally picked; I chose this bench because I could see entrances to both glass houses, people going into the cafe, the wide open grass space, and the entrance/exit to the park from here.

[botanicexperience-blog]

I started by having a walk around the park and it’s amenities in order to pick the best spot to sit. Inside the glasshouses were ruled out because of the smaller confined space and the obstructed view from the trees and plants.