Public space belongs to all of us. How a space or building is designed says something about the people who come there. Our country has changed incredibly. And these developments are continuing at a rapid pace. But do the ideas we have about the use of space change hijust as quickly?

During the radio program on October 18th of NPO 1, Lyongo addressed this complex question, together presenter Guilliano Payne. They talked about themes such as: inclusion, accessibility, design processes and public meeting spaces. “The construction world is not yet sufficiently prepared for the multicultural society”, according to Lyongo.

We’ll highlight some of their conversations…

Know who you are designing for

Lyongo:”I see my work as a very brief moment in a longer story. There is a lot before me and a lot after me. If I do an intervention now, especially in heritage projects, I need to know what happened before my design.” New designs, for existing buildings or new ones, should be accessible to everyone. That is an important aspect of Lyongo’s design profession. “You have to create spaces that are tailored to the end user. Know who the user is.”

“In terms of ethnicity, it suddenly becomes very visible. For example, if twenty white Dutch men are sitting at an Amsterdam design table, you are missing a large group of residents. You are missing 56% of the population of Amsterdam. And also 50% of the women, who are often not taken into account when creating space. This also happens outside of architecture. For example, it was not until 2018 that a dummy was made for testing cars, only then was there a dummy with the physiology of women.”

“When designing spaces, you have to look at how women feel safe and comfortable. Then men automatically feel good too. But if a spreadsheet is leading, you often miss the mark and forget who you are designing for. For example: in a corridor of 1.10m we do not meet and we avoid each other. If the corridor is wider, everyone can move. We do not enter each other’s spaces. Which gives us comfort and space to meet each other, after you passed each other regularly.”

Lyongo’s new documentary

Lyongo also spoke about his 25-year career, his love for bachata and his documentary Kombiná. About the latter, he provides some insights into how he experienced the film process. He also shares the critical points he received during the interviews with local people. For example, a sore point at the Mangrove City Park is that it is not accessible to everyone and there is a barrier because it is a paid visit. Users would like to see that differently, as would Lyongo.