Dua Office, Jakarta, Indonesia

As designers, we feel that we could easily get lost in an excess of facts when constructing a design brief. Data, programs, temperature, etc are vital and important concerns, but we think that we should not write a dry brief.

We believe that storytelling, narratives, scenario, are some approaches which can lead us to other moods while designing.

Everydayness, user behavior, phenomenon or issue are some terms that we usually use as starting points before we focus on something interesting.

For instance, we are currently doing a proposal for a house in a dense area in Indonesia. Starting from an issue of individuality and high wall in Indonesian housing, we tried in this project to imagine some plot that could happen in the new intervention.

One example is ‘how high is our fence’. This plot evokes an idea of interaction and intimacy between user and neighbors.

What if in the afternoon the user can enjoy food from street vendor, have a chat, and enjoy activities in their terrace?

We love the idea that stories could help us to see from different perspective, adding more meaning/value to the design and users in poetic ways.