Regionalism and Co-Design Approach in the Redesign of a Literacy Stage at the Nginden Jangkungan Herbal Library in Surabaya

Abstract

In recent years, regional libraries in Surabaya have been encouraged to support Gerakan Literasi Nasional (GLN), a national program to cultivate literacy in Indonesia. One of these libraries is the Herbal Library on Nginden Jangkungan street in Surabaya that provides various active literacy activities through a literacy stage facility. However, this facility was lacking identity in terms of visual and spatial character and more sub-facilities were needed to accommodate activities for performing, presenting, conducting workshops and other literacy activities. This research aimed to redesign the literacy stage facility of the Nginden Herbal Library using a regionalism approach combined with a community co-design method. The co-design method is a collaborative process between designers and the community to produce designs that truly answer the needs of the community, promote transfer of knowledge and create a shared sense of ownership. The result of this study is an iconic design of a literacy stage that could accommodate the flexibility of literacy activities while representing the local culture of the community. The regionalism approach was adopted through the implementation of natural elements (leaves, bamboo, red ginger, etc.) originating from the herbal library’s site, and the use of Javanese language and culture. Crafts from plastic waste were also co-designed with the community’s art works. It is hoped that the design product can support the Herbal Library to become a new literacy icon in Surabaya.
 Keywords: literacy stage, regionalism, co-design, local culture