A 40-foot shipping container in Clovelly Park, South Australia has been transformed into a prototype space for a new problem-solving hub, with Dulux products playing a significant role in enabling community collaboration and interaction.
Designed by Future Earth Systems, the Systems Thinking Container seeks to foster collaborative working using ‘systems thinking’ – an approach that encourages problem-solvers to look at the forces impacting an issue in an effort to resolve it more effectively.
Located at Tonsley TAFE in Clovelly Park, the installation aims to decode existing complex problems and challenges such as homelessness in Melbourne or managing diabetes in South Australia.
“Essentially, the Systems Thinking Container began as a bare bit of concrete, which has been adaptively used to produce something that is useful to the community and economy at scale,” says architect Chris Sampson from Future Earth Systems.
Fundamental to the success of the program was creating a space that enabled people to interact with problems in both analogue and digital formats – this has been made possible with the application of Dulux 101 Wash&Wear Low Sheen formula and DryErase paint.
The products’ combined properties have transformed the space into a canvas for comments and ideas. Participants use markers to draw or write their suggestions on the container walls, which can then be wiped clean following each session, ready for the next flux of thoughts.
All the expressions during physical interactions are captured digitally so that every idea leaves a lasting imprint beyond the session.
“The support from Dulux Australia has been fantastic as we have already got an ‘analogue’ and friendly way to interact,” continues Sampson. “We are currently building on this by adding some initial digital-style interactivity features ‘inside the box’ using projection and sensors, which work in tandem with the Dulux DryErase and markers.
“Following each episode in the Systems Thinking Container, the written content is captured using an electronic sensor or photographic means. This lets us digest the information, make sense of people’s perspectives and ensures everyone’s input is valued as a result.”
Future Earth Systems aims to establish a network of these spaces, both physically in this ‘container’ form as well as in online, augmented and virtual reality forms to offer people multiple ways to participate.
Image credit: Future Earth Systems
