Cultural Incubator and Social Networking in the North East, part I.

in·cu·ba·tor (nky-btr, ng-)

1. An apparatus in which environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity, can be controlled, often used for growing bacterial cultures, hatching eggs artificially, or providing suitable conditions for a chemical or biological reaction.

2. Medicine An apparatus for maintaining an infant, especially a premature infant, in an environment of controlled temperature, humidity, and oxygen concentration.

3. A place or situation that permits or encourages the formation and development, as of new ideas: a college that was an incubator of new approaches to sociology.
(thefreedictionary.com)

Graduate Design Project - Finnish Institute in the North East - is a call for a cultural enterprise that invests in socioeconomic and cultural benefit on urban or even larger scale: artistic collaborations, strong partnership between creative industry groups, social innovation (see The Finnish Institute in London 'About Us' http://www.finnish-institute.org.uk/en/about). While analyzing design brief and physical requirements for a new Finnish Institute in the North East, several approaches to the project came to my mind.

What environment for innovative collaborations manifested by the client can I create?

micro - Let's say that micro environment for social collaborations is among the members directly involved with Finnish Institute - artists, visitors, staff, neighbours. The members united by the same/similar idea and view towards activities within the Finnish institute.
meso - The idea and cultural benefit of Finnish Institute indirectly influences cultural environment of Newcastle/Gateshead Quayside or even the North East : smaller cultural enterprises start clustering around larger ones and collaborate (Example: Baltic+ Sage = external Quayside live music, dance venues, artistic interventions/installations, art festival venues etc.)

macro - I will call it the environment outside contained spaces. Branding, social networking, indirect collaboration between UK and Finland via cultural promotion.

I have been practicing on making the best environments for collaborations and social interactions within contained spaces (physically or arbitrary) for 3 years. Not this time.

CULTURAL INCUBATOR

As a "feed" research project, we've been asked to look at Newcastle Centre - an environment of clustered cultural enterprises - and design a small incubator for a client that represents a certain cultural group activity/research field. This small scale contained activity would have to act as a catalyst in an already crowded area and still enhance the level of cultural awareness and general quality of place.
However small the incubator is, it's duty is to expand into meso or even macro cultural environments - initiate larger creative enterprises, contribute to positive changes in social fabric of the city or be a confident manifesto of an influential, creative idea. A social or cultural structure has to be designed (or found) in order to expand the tiny contained activity.Designing an incubator is a great test-run of activity+space which lively interacts with larger scale cultural environments.

According to the physical brief, establishment of Finnish Institute in Newcastle/Gateshead Quayside requires as much as ~2000 sq.m of space. But it is clear that this contained activity or cultural enterprise would have to expand into urban/international scale to achieve the social and cultural impact the client aims for.

More about proposed incubator design, Finnish Institute site analysis and social networking scheme to follow in further entries.