XIN HU

The aim of designing the food social platform is to address to some extent the issue of international students not being accustomed to the local food and to improve cultural exchange between different countries; as mentioned in my manifesto, humanism is important in interior design. Because food has always been a catalyst for social life, eating together, and growing vegetables together, these food-inspired activities bring people together; I intend to involve food culture in interior design and allow this natural social standard to catalyse private and public spaces. It is also hoped to catalyse the potential for socialising international and local students through food socialisation and small-scale farming experiences and to provide a design strategy that can be used consistently in Edinburgh, which has a rich food culture as an ancient city.

For the students, I am looking for them to come here to interact and communicate, thus reducing their stress, increasing their understanding of the city and developing their hobbies. And the food is a great medium for communication and can quickly ease the strangeness between international and local students. For example, regular classes could be held from Monday to Friday for interested students to sign up for, leaving more opportunities for the students themselves on Saturdays and Sundays. There could also perhaps be regular food tasting events where students could provide their food for the event to make them feel more involved.