GROM
Design for sustainable tourism, food production and consumption and cultural heritage
How space and service designers improve the experience of visiting a museum of vegetables in Mechelen….
For their final project of the 2019-2020 academic year the students of the Postgraduate Space and Service Design of Thomas More took on a big challenge:
Design spaces, objects, services and experiences for the museum of the vegetable region of Mechelen (’t Grom) in Sint- Katelijne – Waver.
From until
What is it the museum does?
- to preserve and protect biodiversity through the cultivation of heritage varieties;
- to share knowledge about gardening and growers’ varieties, healthy lifestyles, culinary traditions and ecology;
- and to increase the market potential for chefs and growers who work with local and seasonal food.
The brief for the students was threesome:
- Design a new museum environment, for and in collaboration with ’t Grom, and its inviting services for all its users, taking into account the given context.
- Design a new accommodation for farm and rural tourism, for and in collaboration with ’t Grom, and its inviting services for all its users, taking into account the given context.
- Design a new educational workshop space, for and in collaboration with ’t Grom, and its inviting services for all its users, taking into account the given context
Obviously, research was needed. Before diving into the design phase, the Postgraduates and Bachelor students Interior Design who are specialising in Interior and Service Design worked together. Some students looked at the tangible context (lighting, accessibility, orientation, functions, etc), others conducted interviews in order to find out what the needs and expectations are. Other students did literature studies about talent development, ‘the class as the third teacher’ or the working of community schools. After presenting it to the client, the students started designing based on all of the gathered information and research.
The students decided very early in the process to join forces and to work as a group in order to create a holistic and complete design solution for the museum site. Their design proposals will be exposed in the museum all summer long. Design by Annie Bui, Alina Pereyaslavskaya, ANdrea Villacrez, Adela Hankus, Iske Tjolle, Carley Hamaway, Rani Veroustraete and Amélie Mols.
