What if we changed our daily routine

So let me be blunt, I'm an overthinker. No way around it no way to fight it. The thing I mostly overthink about is the future.  The how, the when, the where keeps my mind spinning in an endless circle.

But before I start with my endless tales of future predictions and future trends, allow me to introduce myself (as Eminem would say). My name is Shawn Zimmerman and I am an architect specializing in sustainability and experience design. Creating a new world for my clients is what I'm passionate about. Looking at our world of design through the lens of human experience, realizing what is necessary to make our lives even better.

So hereby would like to say welcome to my monthly "future centric blog about Curaçao".  Where an overthinker expresses his thoughts and predictions about the future, searching for the why the when, and the where on Curaçao. Exploring different topics regarding design, technology, and culture on the island. Exploring how design can make or break our future island. Envisioning a future where our island Is human-centric that speaks to our beliefs and culture. So, join me on this adventure, on how we can rethink the way we design our island and how we can make it future-ready.

One thing that really triggered me, during these “Rona” times, is the way we use space on the island. After one mandate our houses became our office, our gym, our outdoor area, our sanctuary, and even our happy hour bar. This affected us in a way that we never imagined, some struggled, some took the time to reinvent ourselves and some just kept doing what they always did.. staying inside.

But there was one thing we all started to do that really amazed me. At exactly 6 pm, everyone started jogging and walking outside, getting some fresh air, and enjoying the outdoors that Curaçao has to offer.  Those 2 hours of pure joy, became our daily highlight, and that was exactly what led me to ask the question: why don't we have more recreational areas on the island?

Currently, we only have a few, such as Korredor, Mariepampoen, SDK, and Jan Thiel. These are adapted recreational areas but are not actually public spaces. Nevertheless, these places were swamped with people jogging, walking, and just enjoying the outdoors.  The government’s mandate created a problem that we could never foresee, that we didn’t have the necessary public spaces to cope with the demand for recreational areas. Stating the fact that the island wasn’t equipped for this new daily schedule.

We can’t negate the fact that we have been propelled into a new digital age on Curaçao by Covid-19. With this digitalization shaking our island culture up, we must ask the question if our island is designed to cope with these new changes.  We went from a jam packed daily schedule to a freeform schedule that includes a 2 hour leisure time. This not only changed the way we go about our daily lives but it changed how we look at outdoor spaces.  How many of you were working during the day and wondering where the F**ck am I gonna go jog/walk today? Seeking a new adventure, seeking a new place to sit and relax with your family, people watching from a safe distance enjoying the fact that they are being quarantined on an island.

But now that we are “free” again, why can't we include these adventures into our “normal daily lives, why should we drive away from our city to enjoy these types of adventures.  When was the last time you went on a city walk? Enjoying our city streets sitting on a bench gazing upon our beautiful natural harbour.  But as soon as that thought crosses our mind, the first thing we are going to tell ourselves is, are u crazy? you’re going to walk in the sun?

 Let’s pause right here, that same person who tells you he/she doesn’t want to take a stroll through the city during the day. Is the same person that’s going to scream that he/she wants to have a beach day and have some fun in the sun. So how can we create an adventurous city that excites our public and tourists to explore our inner-city? How can we create that excitement within our city? The answer? Pure simple, make it sexy...

Over the years we have transformed our inner city into a concrete jungle, installing large concrete plaza’s, which then retain heat creating a heat bubble around our beautiful inner city.  This not only creates a desert climate for our public spaces but creates an inhumane space where islanders would not want to visit. We thrive under our “kunuku “principle, finding a nearby tree, with a big enough shadow, sitting down with a beer in our hands, and enjoying the cold breeze. This principle must not only be idolized but it’s what makes us different.

So we must use this island principle as a driving force to create vibrant public spaces within our inner city. Places where we can barbeque, sit on a grass field while enjoying the view, order a cold frozen mojito, and enjoy a carefree day. But let me ask you another question when was the last time you went to Brion Plein just for the fun of it?  yeah me neither, to sit in the sun and burn my a** off? I’ll choose the beach any day of the week.

But what if, we transform Brionplein into a grass field with tall big trees, large shadowed areas, and a bar stocked with cold drinks. Can’t you imagine yourself sitting there enjoying the breeze while cruise ships enter our beautiful harbour?  Feeling like you’re in a nature reserve but actually, you’re smack in the middle of our colorful city? Now that’s a Sunday tradition waiting to happen.

And this is exactly what I’ve been overthinking about, we need to start thinking about spaces that really attract us to go outside and enjoy our beautiful island. Not thinking about what can be awesome or crazy but how can it better our people’s daily tradition and their mental health. Not only see our inner-city as a tourist spot but more as a spot where whoever can enjoy themselves and where we can enjoy our own culture.

But this principle is not only for public spaces or large areas, but this principle can also be used anywhere in our daily lives. We must create space that excels in our daily performance, creating a space that makes us feel better and be more in touch with things that makes us happy. We must design with our culture in mind, creating spots that make our minds thrive.

But the question is, how can we reutilize this ideology within our daily lives? How can we create our best living quarters? How can we create a space that propels our wellbeing? How will your house look like? With this new normal world, we on the island must design future spaces that enrich our daily lives, either through vibrant public spaces or own sanctuaries at home.

I can imagine, during the lockdown, you realized that your daily life was missing that one key component. Well write that key component down, and the next time you're going to plan your day make sure that one component is in your daily schedule, if its either enjoying somewhere outside or relaxing in an area that embodies you. Cause after all, that one key component is what makes us… us.

 But How we incorporate that one key component within our own homes, is another day to overthink about.