This project addresses the growing issue of social isolation among seniors in Auckland's CBD, which arises from declining social connections. It aims to create a community-focused space that encourages intergenerational engagement between seniors and university students, thereby alleviating feelings of loneliness.

Guided by the Hautu Waka framework, the design process was culturally sensitive and community-driven. This involved analysing case studies of similar initiatives, conducting surveys to gather stakeholder feedback, and developing personas to better understand user needs and behaviours. These insights informed an iterative design approach, ensuring that the perspectives of Indigenous communities and other key groups were integrated and respected throughout.

The final design visualises a tiny mobile house as a community space. Within this space, seniors can share skills like knitting and traditional food recipes, while students offer technological support in return. A 3D model and illustrative materials were created to visualize how these interactions will occur. This model enhances social cohesion and aims to provide a sense of purpose for seniors while reducing student biases. Additionally, it can be adapted to various urban environments, presenting further opportunities for development. During opening hours, the proposed space will offer informal activities available at any time and structured ones with scheduled times, allowing for meaningful interactions that strengthen over repeated visits.

This model can potentially strengthen social bonds in urban areas and holds promise for broader applicability in diverse urban settings, providing a scalable approach to reducing social isolation.

Prototype Features and Design Choices

Mobile Community Space: The prototype was visualized as a tiny house, allowing it to be easily relocated to various locations in Auckland's CBD. This mobility enables better accessibility for older adults and students, allowing them to reach different neighbourhoods and maximize community participation.

Activity Areas: The tiny house includes designated areas for various intergenerational activities:

• Craft Space: Featuring large tables and comfortable seating, this area encourages participants to engage in activities like knitting or sewing. 

• Cooking Space: The kitchen area is designed to allow older adults to share traditional recipes. This interaction creates a natural platform for knowledge exchange.

• Social space: A comfortable seating area with soft lighting encourages informal conversations and storytelling. This is where participants can relax, share experiences, and build deeper connections through dialogue.

Workshop Material Supply and Sustainability Considerations:

The materials used in the workshops, such as yarn, textiles, and craft supplies, will be sourced from local textile factories and recycling shops, emphasizing sustainability by utilizing scrap and recycled materials. These resources will be provided to participants free of charge during the workshops, making engaging in the activities easy. Additionally, consumable materials will be available from an on-site shop for those who wish to continue their projects at home. This approach minimizes waste and strengthens the connection between the project and the local community by promoting the reuse of locally sourced materials.

Operational Plan

The flow of the prototype community space demonstrates how intergenerational exchanges will be facilitated. University students will be encouraged to visit the space through advertisements, such as those promoted by "Heart of the City Auckland." Simultaneously, older adults will be connected through community support services. Once participants gather in the space, a volunteer team will help initiate and sustain conversations between the generations, fostering meaningful interactions.

Structured Workshops include:

• Knitting sessions led by older adults
• Shared cooking demonstrations of traditional meals
• Group discussions on community history and cultural practices

Promoting the Community Space

This project utilizes a multi-faceted promotional strategy to effectively engage older adults and university students, aiming to raise awareness of the community space and encourage participation from both generations. To ensure the promotion is accessible and reaches all potential participants, particularly older adults, the following steps have been planned:

First, outreach to older adults will be expanded beyond public spaces like the Central City Library. Flyers will be distributed to caregivers, rest homes, and community centres where older adults regularly participate in activities. By engaging caregivers and workshop coordinators, the project aims to reach those who may not come across flyers in public spaces, thereby increasing participation.

Given the varying degrees of accessibility needs among older adults, the promotional materials will be designed with clarity and readability in mind. Flyers will feature large, easy-to-read fonts, high contrast between text and background, simple language, and clear contact details to ensure that older adults can easily understand the information. Readability tests will be conducted to make sure the flyers effectively communicate the details about the community space and its activities.

To attract university students, the project will make use of digital advertisements on platforms like "Heart of the City Auckland" and promote them through university networks. The promotional strategy will also include collaborations with student clubs, social media campaigns, and university newsletters.