Power to the People
Our environment is decided for us, but our interactions with our environment are our own. There's a reason why in architecture school we are tasked with designing for a certain people in any project. When designing for public space, however, we can't design for any one group. How do we decide who to design for then? You really can't. What we can do is give them the canvas to paint their own social picture. The picture above is Bryant Park in New York where the furniture is moveable but the rest of the park is designed with the bare necessities: flat space, alcoves for privacy, a variety in ground types, shading. But is giving the world a canvas to figure out the rest enough? It seems lazy to say "they'll figure it out" when we spend thousands of hours designing specific spaces for specific uses. Most, nearly all, of the public spaces I've been in that I've enjoyed the most have been designed by the people for how they want to experience the space. It isn't just me either. These spaces are where the people are. Europe has piazzas and plazas that recognize that the people need a space to be social and give the edges to the businesses and people to use how they need. The world could change; the businesses could move out and new businesses take their place; different generations have different experiences and it's a constant cycle. That open space designed by its users will always be just as successful as it is the day it was conceived, the same can't be said about more authoritative public space design.
Tate, I was excited to see your thoughts in conjunction with Bryant Park. After visiting and spending an afternoon there, I can agree with it being one of the most dynamic public places that I have been in (especially considering I had gone there straight from the empty One Chase Manhattan Plaza). It is interesting when looking at plazas how simple gestures on the architect's end can create extreme differences of what the public feels they can inhabit.
ReplyDeleteTate, I appreciate your viewpoint on letting people help design their own public spaces. Architects should value the public's input in various design situations. After all, they are the ones experiencing the space the most. Not every opinion should be taken into consideration, but architects should design around how the public would prefer to interact with the space, at least. I think as long as architects present the people with a well-designed foundation, the public can be capable of using it in ways that benefit them and still allow it to remain architecturally pleasing.
ReplyDeleteTate, spot on. Honestly, often times the people don't know what they want any more than we do and their desires for a space could vary day to day. Therefor, even if the public is involved in the designing of a space and it is catered to them, it could soon be dysfunctional with the rest of the urban fabric. I believe allowing for some bit of adaptability in a public space is vital to its success.
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