HubGaFun, 2011

This project is the result of a six weeks international design workshop IDO at the The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design. With a transdisciplinary team of 7 students from 6 different design universities in the United States, Europe and Hong Kong we worked on the problem of the increasing amount of elderly people in the southern parts of China. The first two weeks of the workshop we conducted a research in the Pearl River Delta area and in Hong Kong. After visiting the elderly homes we decided that we wanted to approach the problem with a more social touch, using our design skills in a different way. What is the role of eldery in current society? Shouldn't they be included more?

How can we bring the young and old together without forcing them so that it is fun for both? We created the HubGaFun challenge: a game with a system behind it that tries to bring the younger and older generations together, using hapiness and sharing knowledge, culture and experiences as incentive. The challenge takes place in a so called 'third-space' where multiple generations cross. The aim of the game is to emotionally join the generations by inviting the young and old to collaborate and tackle the different challenges. A diverse community, a public space, a personal object and an activity are the ingredients for the HubGaFun challenge to stimulate bonding and inclusion.

Team Missing: Gunes Aksoy, Brittany Toth, Doremy Diatta, Ling Cheng, Hosea Chan, Gabriel Lam, Kevin Smeeing