Remade in China Week 7 Journal

Material Experimentation Documentation

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1uD3nT2jdRM8rCwbQSrk3yEv-09KeoePeh3mcWCKXMVo/edit?usp=sharing

Documentation of Experiments

Bottle Caps

Orange Peel Bioplastic

See slides for process of experimentation and analysis of materials

Meeting with Community Partner

In the afternoon of October 23rd, Angela, Ken, Natasha, and I visited Mr. Yu and the little New Garden again. Natasha was in the group whose focus was art ladies. She came along with us due to the possible collaboration between us and her group — we planned to set up an art installation in little garden, which could present art ladies’ works. At 2p.m, we arrived the little garden and Mr. Yu introduced us the current condition of the garden: the government decided to reconstruct the community, so the garden is under the process of construction as well. The followings are the main updates:

• The pavement would be decorated with colored and patterned blocks.
• The surrounding walls of the garden might be removed.
• During the period of construction, the little garden stops its opening to residents. However, we are still welcomed to settle any installation in the garden.
• Mr. Yu plan to add a zone for children to play in the garden after the construction finishes. 

Beyond realizing the updated condition of the garden, we also explored the gardens facilities detailedly. The followings are the discoveries we found during this visit:

• The light that the ground lamp and the lamp of the pavilion emits are both yellowish. 
• The twinkle light wrapped around the pavilion utilizes solar energy to charge itself. There was a device settled at the pillar to absorb solar energy and transform it into electricity.
• The lamps hanged at the pavilion was powered by electricity from outlets. The electric wires of the lamps were organized to be settled along the frame of the pavilion and grouped together in a tube near their end. Mr. Yu told us that if we plan to improve the look of lamps, all we need to do is replacing the outer shell of the lamp. We do not need to change the bulb. 
• There were glass fragment embedded among the grass. 

Since both of our visits to the New Garden were during daytime, we decided to visit the New Garden at night by ourselves. Here is the picture that Mr. Yu showed to tell us about the night view of the garden:

Moreover, regarding our desire of collaborating with Natasha’s group, Mr. Yu showed his great interest and encouragement. He told us that the subdistrict office and neighborhood committee both hope that the residents could organize events by themselves within the community. Therefore, he believe that our settlement of art installation would be highly appreciated by the subdistrict office. To support our design, Mr. Yu would collect bottle caps, plastic bags, and wasted woods in the neighborhood. Our group planned to get the materials from him once a week.