Mapping Multisensory Experiences at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games were hosted at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP) with the view of creating a dynamic new heart of east London. The park was designed to continue the legacy of the Paralympic Games and to create a diverse and inclusive space for all.
Our project contributes to this vision by (i) engaging the disabled community of east London in a conversation about their experiences and perceptions of the QEOP and then (ii) co-creating a multisensory representation of the experience of blind people as a reminder of diversity and inclusion at the park.
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About the Project
The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games were hosted at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP) with the view of creating a dynamic new heart of east London. The park was designed to continue the legacy of the Paralympic Games and to create a diverse and inclusive space for all. Our project contributes to this vision by (i) engaging the disabled community of east London in a conversation about their experiences and perceptions of the QEOP and then (ii) co-creating a multisensory representation of the experience of blind people as a reminder of diversity and inclusion at the park. We hope that this work will act as a beacon to the rich network of disabled people across east London and be an accelerator for engagement activities between the GDI Hub’s new lab in UCL East and the local community we look to serve and work with.
Projet Timeline
The project ran between June and October 2021. This project was carried out in four stages.
Stage 1 - Ideation and Co-design Workshops (June-July): We invited the participants to attend a co-design workshop (online or in-person, depending on the social distancing guidelines) to brainstorm and create a prototype of an accessible multisensory map of the Olympic Park.
Stage 2 - Park Exploration and Experience Sampling (August): Participants recorded their experience of exploring the Olympic Park focusing on the multisensory stimulations - sounds, smells, sights, and touch, how these experiences change as they explore different parts of the park, over time and across seasons and reflect on what the Olympic Park centred in east London means to them. The data collection for this phase ran between June - July.
Stage 3 - Producing a Multisensory Augmented Map (August-September): Following the workshop, a multisensory augmented map of the Olympic Park was produced, and participants were invited back to the park to evaluate this map. This map will be augmented with the stories collected by the participants in stage 2 (with participants' consent, of course) and will be temporarily installed within the Olympic Park between August and October (location to be finalised).
Stage 4 - Testing the Augmented Map (October): Once the map was developed and tested with a small subset of participants, we deployed the map using a standalone app to the Olympic Park visitors to share their experience of the park. Through this map, we aim to bring together disabled and non-disabled communities in East London and connect with the global communities who will visit the Olympic Park in person or digitally.
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