Tracey-Jean Hutchinson

Searching for what truly connects us

In my search for what truly connects people, as a designer, I've asked how living together in a community can contribute to reducing loneliness in our society and what role architecture plays in this. Loneliness is a growing problem. This is partly because we live in an increasingly individualistic society, where people are less engaged with each other. Another possible cause is that we've lost our connection with our Creator. To offer a path for people seeking connection with each other or with the Creator, I chose to design a collective living arrangement combined with a meeting space. This space offers space for encounters, collaboration, and finding meaning. My design focuses on the interior of a vacant church, which I recently renovated into a collective housing association and meeting space. The meeting space is flexible in use: the layout allows for multiple meetings to take place simultaneously. The spaces can be divided and adapted to the needs of the users. The furniture plays an important role in this. It is designed to be assembled and moved together. This not only creates a practical seating area, but also a shared moment of creation and collaboration. This design approach encourages encounters and interaction. It enables people to participate actively in their living environment and with one another. In this way, as a social designer, I want to contribute to reducing loneliness. By using architecture as a means of connection, we create a place where people feel seen, heard, and supported.