The City as a Social Product
“The city is, above all, a social product”. I found this to
be a pretty interesting statement because it puts us in a balance between our
design being dictated by the social activity that happens and we adapt our
proposals to them and us as designers trying to create and dictate social
interaction within our design. Personally, I lean more towards the first statement.
There are several examples of a space that was designed for a very specific
intention and once the users occupied it, it became something completely different
or was used incorrectly. Human nature is something that’s particularly
difficult to design around and can be almost unpredictable.
Both of these images are considered fairly decent plazas, however one seems to be significantly more designed (one city plaza in Greenville, SC) but the lack of features in the second image doesn't seem to deter the population. So I believe as designers we have to find that balance between leaving room for human nature to take place and encouraging the activity that goes on there.
I agree with your statement and it seems like there is no exact recipe to make it correct. Unfortunately or fortunately)
ReplyDeleteSpeaking about the examples, I believe, that cultural features, traditions, and mentality are very important. The second one is from Siena, Italy. I visited it and it is a very ancient Italian medieval city, with very narrow streets, when you walk through it you do not see any cars at all. The streets were/are fully pedestrian and rarely are used by cars (only for delivery or emergency I believe). This makes you think about people who come to these both plazas and their ways of using/perceiving city, environment, public spaces.
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ReplyDeleteI'm glad Ksenia brought up the importance of the cultural and contextual implications of the two examples you chose because I too have visited the second example in Sienna and one thing that really comes to mind when I think about what makes these spaces so different is their architectural integrity or authenticity. The Piazza del Campo in Sienna is located in the historic center of the city so between the sloping elevation and the comfort from the surrounding buildings it provides a very inviting public space to use as you please. The example from Greenville with the arching planters, sporadic trees and yellow furniture make this space feel more forced and less open to the spontaneous nature of the everyday.
ReplyDeleteI find the second image more intriguing then the first. Maybe it's because of the contradiction of how relaxed the people are in the hardscape with the heavy buildings in the background. For an instant, it looks like they're at a beach looking toward the sunset. This image reinforces the idea of how unpredictable human nature can be, which is awesome. nice post!
ReplyDeleteIn a way, it seems that One Plaza in Greenville is almost a filler space. A small pocket park that was put there just to fill a vacant space and create a pedestrian access point from Main street to the parking garage one the other side of the plaza. Obviously this is not what it is meant to be but it may be mistaken as that when it is not activated and filled with people.
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