FALKIRK COMMUNITY EVENT: LET'S TALK MULTI-PURPOSE SERVICES
Like many other areas, one of the key issues Falkirk currently faces is the lack of atmosphere in and around the town centre, one of the main contributing factors to this is the large sum of empty lots currently littering the main highstreet. Falkirk once proudly hosted a variety of big name brands on its high street and main shopping center (The Howgate), however as time has passed and more store have moved to operating exclusively online and this has resulted in the highstreet to whittle away to nothing. Back in 2020, we witnessed the first corona-virus pandemic, this numbered the highstreets days lower than ever before and a town already struggling to maintain it's presence and purpose was officially marked for death.
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So why the struggle in the first place?
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Initially large premises were required to facilitate large name brands having stores in the local area, much like highstreets within the cities, once these stores moved out, there was little in the way of replacements. Eventually the only stores to exist in Falkirks main town centre were start-ups and independent stores, these services cannot afford the large amounts of rent required to fill the high street, resulting in a dissapointingly empty town center. This is where we come in, with a potential solution. Multi-purpose services.
MULTI-PURPOSE SERVICES
The premise is rather quite simple, as previously stated the primary factor for so many of falkirks local stores lying empty is that independent and start-up stores/services often cannot afford the rent required to run the premises, so most will opt for more affordable buildings to run, most of which are located outwith the main high street and sometimes even outwith the town center. The ideology behind multi purpose services is to break down these larger lots, into smaller sub-sections that can be individually rented out. This allows for more businesses to exist within the high street, as they can pay for the space that they need and resulting in the potential for several businesses to operate within the same location.
LOCAL BENEFITS
Besides from the obvious benefit of bringing more traffic back to the high street it self, it would also afford the possibility to completely redefine how we percieve and use this space. By allowing for a modualr renting system to be put in place, we would start to see an assortment of businesses working within the same space and ultimately developing whole new experiences. Every visit to the high street would feel new and refreshing, allowing for residents, workers, vistiors, tourists to all explore new services that may not have ever existed before. With the temporary nature of renting, this would mean that these services would also evolve as time goes on, with businesses moving in and out, it would mean the next time you visit your favourite place it may have a completely atmosphere to it.
THE EVENT
Unfortunately it is not feasible to set up a collection of these multi-purpose services for the weekends event, not only would that be priced well out of our budget, we also feel as it would lack the full experience of an evolving high street. Thankfully our team of creatives have concluded a much more efficient approach. By utilising AR technologies we can convert the empty lots into new and exciting areas for participants to explore. With the aid of additional audio and aroma we hope to transport you to a new, fresh high street.
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An added bonus to a digital system is the ability to have our C.I. system automatically swap out sections of these services throughout the day, allowing for the love discovery of new and refreshing places.
MAKING THE EVENT POSSIBLE
We want the weekends events to run as smoothly as possible, that's why we are making sure all the required tecnology and systems will be put in place and ready to use on the day.
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We have been granted permission to utilise the material sensors already inbedded around the town center area. By combining this with our collection of smart glasses and watches, you will be helping to grow a striclty design focused C.I. database. Throughout the day your movements, time spent, emotion and engagement will be tracked and visualised as part of a data mapping for all who are involved to see. The smart watch will also provide prompts and suggestions of places to visit based off of this information and you will also be able to directly leave your own feedback regarding atmosphere, smell, experience and emotion via this too. Collectively this will provide the best opportunity for community engagement throughout the day.
GET INVOLVED
Sound like the kind of thing for you? Sign up bellow to come join the event. The event will be taking place over 3 days, so there is plenty of spaces for people to get involved.
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Once days are fully booked, you can still be active with the event over social media, our website, or keep an eye out for our interactive advertisement boards around the local area. Here you will be able to see an overview of the whole event and help to grow our C.I. database by providing useful feedback and insights.
BACK THE PROJECT
Wishing multi-purpose services were a reality? Well they can be, post event we will be setting up a crowd funding campaign allowing for local residents to help raise money to make this whole thing possible. Upon reaching the funding goal, we will match the funds and start setting in place the infrastructure to allow spaces to be rented out.
Interested in how our services can help you? Give us a call!