Comfort

Comfort – the warm, squishy feeling of contentedness when we feel completely safe and secure. But there is a darker side to comfort. Being too comfortable stops us from exploring the outside world. This need to stay within our warm dwellings can often lead to loneliness and isolation.

We aim to encourage people to venture outside their comfort zone and, surrounded by their neighbours and community, learn and play together. We propose a series of ‘activity pods’ that roam the city, each one with an interactive skill or enterprise inside. Transported by drones, these pods will land in designated docking stations across the city. Each pod’s theme can be identified by its coloured light, but the contents will remain a mystery until the last minute. Traffic will be diverted, and the community will temporarily reclaim their street.

An app is used to locate newly arrived pods. For non-smartphone users, smaller drones will emit sound and light to show the way. Once enough people have arrived, the pod will open, revealing the surprise. The pod will remain temporarily before moving on, being replaced with a different activity to continuously engage the people. People from all backgrounds will come together, discovering new things outside their comfort zone.