Participatory Design - Designing with Kids in Kampung Sewu - Surakarta

For many urban inhabitants in Asian countries, Kampongs are residential areas characterized by lack of facilities and infrastructures. They are also assumed to be unclean because of the absence of domestic waste management. Taking a case study of the Kampung Sewu of Surakarta, this work aims to address both, which are the provision of one of the facilities needed ie. playgrounds for kids/children, and the management of plastic waste by recycling it into eco-bricks. A specific method is used for this work. The provision of the facility is organized in a participatory way where the users (ie. the children and the community) decide the type and location of the playground. Then the physical works are conducted with users who take part in producing eco-bricks as building material and erecting the structure itself. The work concludes the participatory approach which is considerably appropriate with this selected case. Participatory design involving children is created to meet the need for the playground. However, the use of plastic waste for construction reveals that locally collected waste is not sufficient enough to be the raw material for the eco-brick.