REGATHER is a web-app that aims to facilitate the process of community asset mapping for found, reclaimed, salvaged, and/or forage-able material sites in the U-District neighborhood. It offers tools for the collaborative mapping of physical found material sites and a library of DIY project guides to share knowledge for using them. Our current feature project is a customizable gathering structure made entirely from found materials and without hardware. The basic structure is connected through dowel rod joints, and includes a tarp roof, coffee bag walls, and modular shelves clamped onto cross beams through bike tube rubber bands.
My scope of work focused on designing the website while my capstone partner, Ned, worked on designing the DIY projects. We both split the work on the research methods, collecting the materials, and in the documentation.
REGATHER is a web-app that aims to facilitate the process of community asset mapping for found, reclaimed, salvaged, and/or forage-able material sites in the U-District neighborhood. It offers tools for the collaborative mapping of physical found material sites and a library of DIY project guides to share knowledge for using them. Our current feature project is a customizable gathering structure made entirely from found materials and without hardware. The basic structure is connected through dowel rod joints, and includes a tarp roof, coffee bag walls, and modular shelves clamped onto cross beams through bike tube rubber bands.
My scope of work focused on designing the website while my capstone partner, Ned, worked on designing the DIY projects. We both split the work on the research methods, collecting the materials, and in the documentation.
What is it?
THE WEB-APP
Collaborative Mapping: to share sites of found, reclaimed, salvaged, and/or forage-able materials around U-District.
Guides Library Platform: to share guides for DIY projects and related knowledge of working with found materials.
THE PROJECT CASE STUDY
A customizable gathering structure with modular shelves made almost entirely from found materials — and absolutely no hardware — which we have temporarily turned into a library space.
Research
SECONDARY RESEARCH
1. Tactical Urbanism
2. Community Asset Mapping
3. Existing Tutorial/Zine Guides
SURVEY
Collected quantitative data on current interests and tendencies around found materials. We received 46 responses from a variety of experience levels.
SEMI-STRUCTURED
Collected qualitative data on motivations behind found materials use and to gain insight on knowledge of materials, projects, and locations that interviewees have. We interviewed 2 participants who are both experienced with found materials and in community resource sharing networks.
SITE TOURS
Understand the context of the environment for where we are designing for and observe real-world examples of DIY projects that use found materials. We toured 2 sites: the Beacon Hill Food Forest and the Abundance guerilla garden in U-District.
PARTICIPANT OBSERVATIONS
We began mapping and keeping track of found material sites and looked at potential areas in need of intervention.
The findings
01
There is a disparity in interest and engagement in found materials + community resource sharing.
People are interested in found materials and community resource networks, but are not involved.
02
Community Resource Sharing networks are local.
Knowledge-sharing happens through trusted groups and tends to not be shared widely—need to know someone already in.
03
Mapping needs to consider time.
Knowledge-sharing happens through trusted groups and tends to not be shared widely—need to know someone already in.
04
Environmental Context is important.
Therefore, guides need to be adaptive and allow for material variations. There were also insights on desired interventions based on the climate and gathering space activities.
USER EXPERIENCE FLOWS
Visual Styles
The Result
SHARING + BROWING FOUND MATERIAL SITES
CREATING A GUIDE
