Takuma Yoshimi

My Hackspace proposal is designed to improve social cohesion through hands-on production, collaborative working and socialising. 

Set within the site of an adult education centre in the centre of the town in Margate, I aim to energise, inspire and grow knowledge and skill-sharing amongst the continually evolving local community. Margate itself has been considered a ‘dumping ground’ with high unemployment rates, a lack of skilled labour, and a shortage of facilities to train people’s minds and skills.

I had the desire to create a project that responds to Margate’s unique situation. My Hackspace represents a new culture in learning, providing a centre where learning through participation is crucial and where education is an issue of engagement rather than of spoon-fed, dry knowledge. 

Within my Hackspace: “Learning, Making, Breaking”, zoning is inspired by the geometrical proportions of the building and the ratios of space devised for ideal learning teams. Enhancing the characteristics and beauty of the building, I have opened the building’s facade windows, changing the floor lines to be level so the windows form gates into the building. Visibility and visual access are key components to my space; encouraging people to share what they are doing and what they have been working on.

I wish for the very fabric of the building and the flexibility of the structure to express that spirit of openness and orientation towards the community. The creative scaffolding within and around my building plays a role to create adaptable and multi-functional spaces that continually morph and flex. 

“Learning, Making, Breaking" expresses an energy of future–oriented thinking and innovation around materials and creative problem-solving, forming an inspiring new educational destination for Margate.