Essay – Places to be and People’s Behavior

As we walked through the streets of Uganda, we saw people spending their time in a variety of ways, such as opening stores outside and doing housework outdoors in the bright daylight. The sun was very strong, so they chose shady places to stay according to their own behavior. We researched how people spend their time under the shadows and used this as a starting point for the “Shade for Stops” workshop.

He worked on his sewing machine at the front door, seeking light from the dark interior.

Choose a little shade and create their own places.

We aimed to bring the environment found in the city into the site, so that the furniture would be preface for people to look for and find places where they want to spend their time. Through our research and production, we were able to learn about the richness of living in an environment that is constantly changing due to weather, time, and other factors. In the future, I would like to make use of this experience to design spaces where I can recognize my own body and be conscious of spatializing people’s behavior. At the site of the workshop, a courtyard of Yamasen Japanese Restaurant, the shadows cast by the trees, buildings, and boundary walls were already present. We created furniture such as tables and benches to harmonize the characteristics of each place.

Emi Kabayama