After the presentation feedback I had a look for what existing installations might be out there that support my direction and found this amazing article from an installation in Canada of bean bags type structures.
http://www.archdaily.com/279536/pop-rocks-soft-urban-boulder-field-installation-matthew-soules-architecture-afjd-studio
Sunday, 27 November 2016
Friday, 25 November 2016
Presentation feedback
Had presentations today and it was an interesting process - I was slightly worried about how interesting people would/wouldn't find mine, and I was also disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to stay to see them all because of prior work commitments.
2 of the 4th year groups presented and then I was the third to present and I felt hugely intimidated as they had both had their physical testing installations there to show and I was more or less just giving a power point presentation. I felt like it was really hard to show my process any other way though as a lot of what I've done over the past 3 weeks has been developmental thinking and research, thinking and research, and then that beanbag testing in the last week.
I feel comfortable with what I presented however and have summarised the feedback:
- It was suggested that I look into the psychology of people's need to make spaces their own.
- How do you empower people to feel like they are allowed to engage with and move things?
- Keep challenging people, by having things change on them
- Could I focus more on the beanbags and forget the structural work I've done to make more of an interesting/unique beanbag installation?
- The current structure I've drawn up is almost a juxtaposition - by putting the tree in the middle you are blocking conversation, and the hard rigid structure opposes what I'm trying to do introducing the soft cushioning beanbags.
- Could I separate the tree and the boxes?
- Is there then a cultural issue with a tree being movable? Separating the roots from the Earth??
- If your thinking about the tree acting as shade - why does it have to be a tree??
- There are lots of opportunities from the beanbag
- different colours, textures, shapes (could these be used to reflect Wellington more?)
- what would the beanbags be like at night? glow in the dark??
- have a look at the very popular at the moment "air sacks"
- people started coming up with crazy ideas like how the beanbags could change with heat, or time of day etc.
Also - I had to look up the term serendipity as Euan uses it continuously!
Serendipity:
the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way
Thursday, 24 November 2016
Presentation file
I created a powerpoint presentation with some speech notes to cover off my process over the past 3 weeks.
Urban Camouflage; What an extremely broad,
and difficult concept. So one of the first thing’s I did on day 1 of this
project was to try and define this term for myself. I came up with urban
camouflage as a method of interrupting the bland city scape with an artistic
intervention to revitalise a space. And I continued to refer to this throughout
my developments.
Location was the driver for what my project
would become. When walking through the city centre, I went through Civic Square
and was surprised to see it in a different light to what I remember. For me
Civic Square was always more of an exciting destination as a young girl, it was
a hub for the city and full of life however what I saw on Tuesday was a
forgotten space, that hadn’t been given any love for some time. So I made the
decision then and there to use this project to develop an idea for revitalising
Civic Square.
My first insight when doing some research
was that Civic Square is a reasonably recent addition to Wellington, having
only been built in the 90’s, what was interesting though was that the design
for it was inspired by the public squares of Europe and dropped into our little
city without much consideration to the differences between Europe and New
Zealand. Because of this, my first direction was to try and bring our kiwi
identity into the space and I created a survey to try and get a feel for what
people loved about Wellington. Getting responses for the survey proved more difficult
than I’d anticipated though, and the comments I did receive were challenging to
try and interpret in the space.
So going back and spending more time in
Civic Square, I watched how people used the space and it was a great turning
point for my project. My focus started to become more on the way people used
the space, and I did a lot of research into zoning and different seating
arrangements as I felt like this was what was really missing from the space. At
the same time I still had the issue of lighting, and addressing all the
different corridor entrances in the back of my head as more ideas I’d like to
tackle in the Square, but I put them aside and focused on seating.
Further research and feedback led me to a
point where in my head, I was designing a structure that would function as a
seat, incorporate lighting, and a tree/greenery. But when I say it out loud it
sounds like a really messy concept – and it was – which made me struggle to get
my head into it.
It was at that point I decided to just step
back and do some reading and generate some new thinking in terms of trying to
re-center the user within my design. The article I read was called “Placemaking
and the Future of Cities” and there was a moment in it where they discussed how
when placemaking is conducted with transparency and good faith, the community
feels a sense of ownership and engagement with the space and design then serves
as function, which really connected with me. It reinforced that just because
we’re designers, doesn’t mean we always know best, and to generate something
that will succeed, you need to put the user first and know what it is they
want.
With this reading in the forefront of my
mind, I went into our interim presentation feeling reasonably solid in my
thinking but nervous about my actual output, but I came out of interim with a
much clearer head. Euan helped me to understand that my concept wasn’t about
seating as such but more about creating engagement in the space. My fixation on
this form of seating had distracted me from my purpose which was to create a
way to make users want to spend time at and engage with Civic Square. The
feedback from my peers led me to think of ways I could test public engagement.
What I came up with was using the bean bags, so on Tuesday I set up 11 bean
bags in the green space at the bottom of the War Memorial to see if the public
would use them and rearrange them to suit their needs as this was what was
really at the centre of my thinking.
This testing was another major step forward
in my project because it made me think a lot about the freedom and comfort
people were enjoying, and how this was more pertinent to my project than some
of my initial ideas. At the height of my test, all the bean bags were in use,
and there were more people milling around the space who looked as though they
were hoping to see a spare beanbag that they could use for themselves. This
justified to me that people do find ‘seating’ a great way to engage with the
space, but it was the freedom of the beanbags that was so popular. Yes there
were plenty of bench seats, but these were rigid and restrictive in their
placement, people enjoyed being able to shift and sit in the bean bags however
they wanted, and in groupings that they wanted.
A highlight for me during the testing was a
young couple that spent over an hour sitting in the beanbags who I actually
talked to at the end. They were absolutely taken with the idea and wanted to
know where to sign to get on board, they thought it was a permanent thing, and they
were just so grateful for the opportunity and the time they’d spent there.
I was reinspired by this test and decided
that moving forward I needed to rethink my rigid structures. Talking through my
project with family, I had my light bulb moment, which was that with this
project I am focusing on my generation and that opened up new doors. There are
already plenty of park benches to suit those older generations who are familiar
with them and find them easier to get in and out of within Civic Square. To
rejuvenate it for the future I needed to be introducing something fun, and
malleable and create an experience for the public that would be different every
time.
My outcome is to introduce beanbags into
the Civic Square space, but I also found a way to incorporate all of the other
research and strong ideas I’d had earlier. The design solution I have come up
with is a semi-portable structure - by semi-portable I mean it would be
designed on lockable wheels to secure it’s place in the Square unless needing to
be moved out for a special event. This structure houses a tree in the centre,
storage for beanbags on either side, and a solid seating structure when the
storage is shut. The storage would be lockable and ideally someone from an
organisation like the council would be responsible for unlocking them on a nice
morning, and then maybe a security guard would be responsible for locking them
up again in the evening but that would be further thought through with more
time. There is also shadow box lighting, and lights up in the tree powered by
solar energy to excite people in the evenings. The idea is that I’d place two
or 3 of these along the edge of the turf line as indicated in this image to
create a kind of zoning between those people using the space as a walk through
from A to B, and those there to spend time in the space.
This idea incorporates all of the things I
was trying to earlier but in a more sophisticated manner.
I have still generated an idea for a type
of structure with a tree in it to introduce more greenery and nature into the
space, and also provide that all important shade on sunny days.
I have kept an element of lighting in there
because I really want to encourage people to interact with the space past the
standard daylight hours that people use it for now.
And following my successful testing I have
settled on beanbags as a form of seating/comfort to encourage people to use and
spend time in the space.
Over the course this project, I definitely
feel like I’ve been up, down, sideways, pretty much all over the place, but
it’s amazing how an idea can progress under a little bit of a pressure for
example today’s presentation deadline. In saying that I have really enjoyed the
last 3 weeks, pushing my own creativity further then I would’ve expected and
being able to see how differently everyone’s creative bent operates, so thank
you all and I’d welcome some feedback.
More research to build on my context
http://www.pps.org/reference/generalseating/
"Good public spaces give people a choice of where and how they would like to sit. They provide different types of seating options such as ledges, steps, benches, moveable chairs as well as different places or locations within the same area, such as in the sun, in the shade, in groups, alone, close to activity, or somewhat removed from activity."
"Supporting how people sit or ways in which people like to sit on benches or seats affects seating design."
http://www.pps.org/reference/seating/
"Probably the best kind of seating is the moveable chair. Not perfect in every situation, it is nearly so in most. Why? Several reasons. Firstly, chairs are more comfortable than benches. Secondly, they’re inexpensive. Costs vary, but you can provide roughly 10 moveable chairs for the price of one bench (or even less). Thirdly, people can arrange chairs how they like, to sit nearer or farther apart, and move them around to either sun or shade (click on the video clip above to see moveable seating in action). This choice allows people to exercise their options to sit near an event, or away in the quiet, wherever they may feel more comfortable. Many times, they will leave them right where they are, or move them just a few inches."
"Certainly, providing moveable furniture opens up the possibility that it might be stolen. However, if the area is supervised by an attendant, or if the furniture is located near another amenity or activity where staff is present, then vandalism and theft become much less likely (Bryant Park reports that just a few of its hundreds of moveable chairs are stolen each year). "
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/journals/research-journal/issue-03/seating-and-sitting-in-the-v-and-a-an-observational-study/
"The presence of people in public spaces has long been considered an important indicator of a healthy public life. Danish architect and academic Jan Gehl, one of the most influential researchers of public space in Europe in the 20th century, regards lingering (not to be confused with the more pejorative ‘loitering’) to be the key indicator of how well a public space is working, because it shows that a space offers enough interest (something to watch) and comfort (somewhere to sit) for people to choose to spend time there. Gehl regards seating as one of the most important provisions in public spaces to encourage lingering, because ‘[o]nly when opportunities for sitting exist can there be stays of any duration. If these opportunities are few or bad, people just walk on by’. In outdoor spaces, weather plays a decisive role in how attractive a space may be on any given day. Because of this, one of the key indicators used by Gehl Architects in studies of cities around the world is whether or not a space shows a large discrepancy in use between winter and summer months."
http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/5-ways-we-design-our-cities-make-them-inhospitable-human-life-photos
“Urban spaces are aggressively rejecting soft, human bodies.”
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/aug/04/pops-privately-owned-public-space-cities-direct-action
"When space is controlled, we tend to police ourselves, to monitor our behaviour and to limit our interactions"
Cities / Engage people in the design of public spaces / 02 March 2015 / 3 / Joana Mendo
"Who are we designing our spaces and our cities for? The people that use them"
"In the medieval period, everyone in a city or region would have been involved in building and the thinking behind its grand cathedral. Back then, the specialists, the artists, the craftsmen were sourced locally. There was a sense of participation and ownership among populations that lasted for generations."
"Good public spaces give people a choice of where and how they would like to sit. They provide different types of seating options such as ledges, steps, benches, moveable chairs as well as different places or locations within the same area, such as in the sun, in the shade, in groups, alone, close to activity, or somewhat removed from activity."
"Supporting how people sit or ways in which people like to sit on benches or seats affects seating design."
http://www.pps.org/reference/seating/
"Probably the best kind of seating is the moveable chair. Not perfect in every situation, it is nearly so in most. Why? Several reasons. Firstly, chairs are more comfortable than benches. Secondly, they’re inexpensive. Costs vary, but you can provide roughly 10 moveable chairs for the price of one bench (or even less). Thirdly, people can arrange chairs how they like, to sit nearer or farther apart, and move them around to either sun or shade (click on the video clip above to see moveable seating in action). This choice allows people to exercise their options to sit near an event, or away in the quiet, wherever they may feel more comfortable. Many times, they will leave them right where they are, or move them just a few inches."
"Certainly, providing moveable furniture opens up the possibility that it might be stolen. However, if the area is supervised by an attendant, or if the furniture is located near another amenity or activity where staff is present, then vandalism and theft become much less likely (Bryant Park reports that just a few of its hundreds of moveable chairs are stolen each year). "
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/journals/research-journal/issue-03/seating-and-sitting-in-the-v-and-a-an-observational-study/
"The presence of people in public spaces has long been considered an important indicator of a healthy public life. Danish architect and academic Jan Gehl, one of the most influential researchers of public space in Europe in the 20th century, regards lingering (not to be confused with the more pejorative ‘loitering’) to be the key indicator of how well a public space is working, because it shows that a space offers enough interest (something to watch) and comfort (somewhere to sit) for people to choose to spend time there. Gehl regards seating as one of the most important provisions in public spaces to encourage lingering, because ‘[o]nly when opportunities for sitting exist can there be stays of any duration. If these opportunities are few or bad, people just walk on by’. In outdoor spaces, weather plays a decisive role in how attractive a space may be on any given day. Because of this, one of the key indicators used by Gehl Architects in studies of cities around the world is whether or not a space shows a large discrepancy in use between winter and summer months."
http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/5-ways-we-design-our-cities-make-them-inhospitable-human-life-photos
“Urban spaces are aggressively rejecting soft, human bodies.”
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/aug/04/pops-privately-owned-public-space-cities-direct-action
"When space is controlled, we tend to police ourselves, to monitor our behaviour and to limit our interactions"
Cities / Engage people in the design of public spaces / 02 March 2015 / 3 / Joana Mendo
"Who are we designing our spaces and our cities for? The people that use them"
"In the medieval period, everyone in a city or region would have been involved in building and the thinking behind its grand cathedral. Back then, the specialists, the artists, the craftsmen were sourced locally. There was a sense of participation and ownership among populations that lasted for generations."
Wednesday, 23 November 2016
Tuesday, 22 November 2016
Workbook pages
This testing was another major step forward
in my project because it made me think a lot about the freedom and comfort
people were enjoying.
A height during the test was all the bean bags being in use,
and more people milling around the space who looked as though they
were hoping to see one spare.
This
justified to me that people do find ‘seating’ a great way to engage with the
space, but it was the freedom of the beanbags that was so popular.
A highlight for me during the testing was a
young couple that spent over an hour sitting in the beanbags who I actually
talked to at the end. They were absolutely taken with the idea and wanted to
know where to sign to get on board, they thought it was a permanent thing, and they
were just so grateful for the opportunity and the time they’d spent there.
Monday, 21 November 2016
Feedback
Today was a great chance to develop my concept with feedback from my peers.
I presented to them where I was at and it was really interesting that in my head, I had come back around to my idea being focused on "seating", and during the feedback what Euan actually helped me to realise was that seating was just a form for my real purpose which was to engage people in the space.
I got heaps of really helpful feedback but was worried about not testing my idea and then it struck me that we have a whole bunch of bean bags at our disposal and that these are a temporary and movable form for people to engage with so I could test with them. Euan and I spoke to Carl who was happy to let me borrow them and I constructed a plan. I couldn't get them to Civic Square to trial so instead plan to take them to the grassy space at the bottom of the war memorial as I can just carry them down in a couple of trips (hopefully with help from my friends).
I'm feeling rejuvenated with my idea and am ready to push forward with testing and further research.
I presented to them where I was at and it was really interesting that in my head, I had come back around to my idea being focused on "seating", and during the feedback what Euan actually helped me to realise was that seating was just a form for my real purpose which was to engage people in the space.
I got heaps of really helpful feedback but was worried about not testing my idea and then it struck me that we have a whole bunch of bean bags at our disposal and that these are a temporary and movable form for people to engage with so I could test with them. Euan and I spoke to Carl who was happy to let me borrow them and I constructed a plan. I couldn't get them to Civic Square to trial so instead plan to take them to the grassy space at the bottom of the war memorial as I can just carry them down in a couple of trips (hopefully with help from my friends).
I'm feeling rejuvenated with my idea and am ready to push forward with testing and further research.
Sunday, 20 November 2016
The tree
Did some research into what types of trees would be ideal to use as canopy evergreen trees that would suit Wellington weather and the only one I could find was the himalayan ash which is actually already around Welly a bit but I guess that just means someone else thought that through before just planting random trees which is a positive.
Here's a bit of info on the Himalayan Ash tree:
http://bigtree.co.nz/shop/evergreen/fraxinus-griffithi/
Here's a bit of info on the Himalayan Ash tree:
http://bigtree.co.nz/shop/evergreen/fraxinus-griffithi/
Reading
Decided to do some reading on the importance of public spaces and found an awesome article by Project for Public Spaces Inc.
A summary of the goodness I got:
"What defines a character of a city is it's public space"
"public spaces are an asset to a city"
"an attractive, active, well-functioning public space can jumpstart economic development in a community"
"Public spaces are a vital ingredient of successful cities"
"Every community has some sort of public space, even if it is not immediately apparent. Sometimes it is obvious - a shady park with walking paths and benches; a boulevard with sidewalks, a grand plaza surrounded by government buildings. But public space is also what we find in between private spaces, and is not always recognised or honoured as public. Back alleys, neglected courtyards, and stairways may escape our notice - but these are nonetheless among a city's most underutilised and potentially valuable assets. Because they belong to everybody, they are perceived as belonging to nobody. And yet if they are claimed, and owned, and developed, they can be harnessed to strengthen and enrich their communities."
"The placemaking process, when it is conducted with transparency and good faith from the bottom up, results in a place where the community feels ownership and engagement, and where design serves as function."
"when it comes to public spaces, the community is the expert"
"a city's best public spaces are multi-use destinations ... where citizens can find common ground"
There was a case study in Santiago, Chile that I felt related nicely to Civic Square in that their square had many many entrances also and they identified that this made it appealing to criminals and therefore not a place of safety for the public. Their redesign harnessed light to make the space feel safer and more welcoming and they changed the park design into a plaza surface to promote more public uses. They also replaced the barriers between businesses with glass panels to create a feeling of openness.
Another case study in Melbourne, Australia felt relatable as our city's operate in similar fashions, and was an exemplar of success. They developed a space that was dynamically connected to the surrounding neighbourhood, fostering street life and creating a strong sense of place.
A summary of the goodness I got:
"What defines a character of a city is it's public space"
"public spaces are an asset to a city"
"an attractive, active, well-functioning public space can jumpstart economic development in a community"
"Public spaces are a vital ingredient of successful cities"
"Every community has some sort of public space, even if it is not immediately apparent. Sometimes it is obvious - a shady park with walking paths and benches; a boulevard with sidewalks, a grand plaza surrounded by government buildings. But public space is also what we find in between private spaces, and is not always recognised or honoured as public. Back alleys, neglected courtyards, and stairways may escape our notice - but these are nonetheless among a city's most underutilised and potentially valuable assets. Because they belong to everybody, they are perceived as belonging to nobody. And yet if they are claimed, and owned, and developed, they can be harnessed to strengthen and enrich their communities."
"The placemaking process, when it is conducted with transparency and good faith from the bottom up, results in a place where the community feels ownership and engagement, and where design serves as function."
"when it comes to public spaces, the community is the expert"
"a city's best public spaces are multi-use destinations ... where citizens can find common ground"
There was a case study in Santiago, Chile that I felt related nicely to Civic Square in that their square had many many entrances also and they identified that this made it appealing to criminals and therefore not a place of safety for the public. Their redesign harnessed light to make the space feel safer and more welcoming and they changed the park design into a plaza surface to promote more public uses. They also replaced the barriers between businesses with glass panels to create a feeling of openness.
Another case study in Melbourne, Australia felt relatable as our city's operate in similar fashions, and was an exemplar of success. They developed a space that was dynamically connected to the surrounding neighbourhood, fostering street life and creating a strong sense of place.
Saturday, 19 November 2016
More confusion
I talked to mum about my all over the place changing idea yesterday and talking it through with her really seemed to help.
She helped me to see that I was much more passionate about the seating idea and that I just needed to work out a good lens to frame what I was doing. I was feeling concerned that the seating idea didn't really fit with "urban camouflage" and what others in the class were doing, however she helped me to see that by introducing greenery into the space I was already answering the brief however that the concept had much more potential and she helped me to get the idea of making seats fold down out of the tree creating more camouflage. The lighting I wanted to add in would also only be a nighttime feature therefore camouflaged during the day.
So back to this idea moving forward.
She helped me to see that I was much more passionate about the seating idea and that I just needed to work out a good lens to frame what I was doing. I was feeling concerned that the seating idea didn't really fit with "urban camouflage" and what others in the class were doing, however she helped me to see that by introducing greenery into the space I was already answering the brief however that the concept had much more potential and she helped me to get the idea of making seats fold down out of the tree creating more camouflage. The lighting I wanted to add in would also only be a nighttime feature therefore camouflaged during the day.
So back to this idea moving forward.
Thursday, 17 November 2016
CONFUSION
I came into today's class feeling comfortable with my progress.
Then as everyone started talking about their projects etc. I started feeling like my project didn't fit the bill of what I should be doing with this project and started really freaking out!
As people were discussing how they were progressing I started thinking on my own idea more too and wondered if maybe I should be focusing more on the entrance and how this could work.
I started coming up with ideas like creating an archway in the entrance and got inspired when a couple of girls talked about paper cutting and started thinking about how this could work with light, and projections, I thought about how it would be different when you enter vs. when you exit, maybe hidden text woven into the archway, different text everyday so people don't become too used to it.
And then I started looking at interactive lighting and how I could potentially use this in the entrance and came across some cool stuff:
https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/252834966558541001/
https://vimeo.com/43257999
https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/439101032402971171/
And then I started thinking that if this was what I went forward with what would my purpose be??
To invite/welcome people into the space AND encourage attendance in the evening (when the space is usually deserted).
Then as everyone started talking about their projects etc. I started feeling like my project didn't fit the bill of what I should be doing with this project and started really freaking out!
As people were discussing how they were progressing I started thinking on my own idea more too and wondered if maybe I should be focusing more on the entrance and how this could work.
I started coming up with ideas like creating an archway in the entrance and got inspired when a couple of girls talked about paper cutting and started thinking about how this could work with light, and projections, I thought about how it would be different when you enter vs. when you exit, maybe hidden text woven into the archway, different text everyday so people don't become too used to it.
And then I started looking at interactive lighting and how I could potentially use this in the entrance and came across some cool stuff:
https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/252834966558541001/
https://vimeo.com/43257999
https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/439101032402971171/
And then I started thinking that if this was what I went forward with what would my purpose be??
To invite/welcome people into the space AND encourage attendance in the evening (when the space is usually deserted).
Wednesday, 16 November 2016
Touching base with Euan
I had all my seating ideas/lighting options and everything to show Euan and we had some really good discussions to help narrow my thinking.
I really need to think about my purpose/driver for this project.
And we talked a lot about how to develop/combine all the things I'm really interested in which is the light, the seating zones, and greenery.
So I then started looking at some plant sculptures:
http://twistedsifter.com/2013/07/plant-sculptures-mosaiculture-international-montreal/
but decided that that wasn't quite the direction for me.
So from there I looked into portable plants, seats etc.
Tuesday, 15 November 2016
Monday, 14 November 2016
Making contact with Drew
I sent Drew an email this morning to find out what existing plans/events are being organised for the Civic Square space so hope to hear back from him soon, however with the earthquakes it's hard to know if he will be able to get back to work and have time to deal with my email.
Seeing as we didn't have class today (again because of the freakin scary earthquake) I started to generate some responses from yesterday's observations.
Seeing as we didn't have class today (again because of the freakin scary earthquake) I started to generate some responses from yesterday's observations.
Sunday, 13 November 2016
Sunday Observations
Sitting in Civic Square this afternoon was quite insightful. My notes were so quickly scribbled that I thought I best make some sense of them:
Different groups engaged with the space differently;
Families used it as an opportunity to be active/kick a ball around with their kids, or go for a stroll, the weekend seemed to have brought out a number of young families.
Couples used it as a method of getting from a - b, or as a spot where they could sit and chat.
Individuals often simply passed through or sat down to read a book.
Groups of people used the space to socialise.
The average age looked to be about 20 years old, and young people seemed more interested in using the space in a social way whereas the older people tended to just be moving through.
The green space looks to be well enjoyed and a good addition to the space.
Things we identified that would improve the space:
- street acts
- seating
- lighting (at night especially, the space is inaccessible)
- entry points
I did a few measures and counted 28 people engaging with the space at 2:45pm. 15 minutes later at 3pm there were 38.
We evaluated the reason for this as the fact that there is nothing really on offer to engage people so they are only going to stay for as long as they can hold a conversation or for as long as their food lasts.
There were also a lot of people moving through the space, approx 14 in 1 minute.
Ideas generated whilst evaluating the space:
- fun interactive lighting - think the batman search light
- civic square as an extension of the library - there were plenty of people in the library reading that could've been reading outside in the sunshine/
- there should definitely be an obvious/accessible cafe (the one by the creche is so hidden!
- the space DEFINITELY NEEDS MUSIC!
- create art at each entry point
- pressure sensor lights
Different groups engaged with the space differently;
Families used it as an opportunity to be active/kick a ball around with their kids, or go for a stroll, the weekend seemed to have brought out a number of young families.
Couples used it as a method of getting from a - b, or as a spot where they could sit and chat.
Individuals often simply passed through or sat down to read a book.
Groups of people used the space to socialise.
The average age looked to be about 20 years old, and young people seemed more interested in using the space in a social way whereas the older people tended to just be moving through.
The green space looks to be well enjoyed and a good addition to the space.
Things we identified that would improve the space:
- street acts
- seating
- lighting (at night especially, the space is inaccessible)
- entry points
I did a few measures and counted 28 people engaging with the space at 2:45pm. 15 minutes later at 3pm there were 38.
We evaluated the reason for this as the fact that there is nothing really on offer to engage people so they are only going to stay for as long as they can hold a conversation or for as long as their food lasts.
There were also a lot of people moving through the space, approx 14 in 1 minute.
Ideas generated whilst evaluating the space:
- fun interactive lighting - think the batman search light
- civic square as an extension of the library - there were plenty of people in the library reading that could've been reading outside in the sunshine/
- there should definitely be an obvious/accessible cafe (the one by the creche is so hidden!
- the space DEFINITELY NEEDS MUSIC!
- create art at each entry point
- pressure sensor lights
Friday, 11 November 2016
Moving forward
Had a really productive class on Thursday which generated some good ideas/ways for me to move forward.
The interesting insight I have at this stage is that Civic Square doesn't reflect Wellington so in order to combat this, I need to work out what does!
It is also interesting to try and assess how different people use the space in order to make an effective engagement.
To progress:
I have emailed a guy named Drew who is working at the WCC to see if he has any gems to share about Civic Square.
I am intending to go a sit in the space and people watch for a while to get more of a feel for things.
I am also going to survey what people like about Wellington to try and start putting together ideas for what makes Wellington great and how to show this in Civic Square.
The interesting insight I have at this stage is that Civic Square doesn't reflect Wellington so in order to combat this, I need to work out what does!
It is also interesting to try and assess how different people use the space in order to make an effective engagement.
To progress:
I have emailed a guy named Drew who is working at the WCC to see if he has any gems to share about Civic Square.
I am intending to go a sit in the space and people watch for a while to get more of a feel for things.
I am also going to survey what people like about Wellington to try and start putting together ideas for what makes Wellington great and how to show this in Civic Square.
Wednesday, 9 November 2016
Tuesday, 8 November 2016
Defining Urban Camouflage
I felt like I needed to try and define this massive term a bit for myself in order to try and get my head around the project so the way I've decided to interpret Urban Camouflage is:
- a way of interrupting the boring brick city scape/life with an artistic intervention to revitalise the space and create recognition and appreciation.
- transforms what is currently invisible into something extraordinary, and concurrently, hides what doesn't need to be seen.
- a way of interrupting the boring brick city scape/life with an artistic intervention to revitalise the space and create recognition and appreciation.
- transforms what is currently invisible into something extraordinary, and concurrently, hides what doesn't need to be seen.
More research
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/10713348/Civic-Square-turns-into-sandpit
Good example of some of the stuff that was being done to liven up Civic Square.
http://wellington.govt.nz/your-council/projects/earthquake-strengthening-projects/town-hall-strengthening/town-hall-architectural-history
Some information on the history of the Town Hall which is one of the major and iconic building surrounding Civic Square.
http://www.sculptures.org.nz/#/tours/civic-square
A good structural map view of the space and some images of the art installations/sculptures there.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/63960176/council-eyes-developers-dollars
An interesting article from 2014 details the plans/ideas for Civic Square. We can see that some of these plans went ahead and others didn't.
Good example of some of the stuff that was being done to liven up Civic Square.
http://wellington.govt.nz/your-council/projects/earthquake-strengthening-projects/town-hall-strengthening/town-hall-architectural-history
Some information on the history of the Town Hall which is one of the major and iconic building surrounding Civic Square.
http://www.sculptures.org.nz/#/tours/civic-square
A good structural map view of the space and some images of the art installations/sculptures there.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/63960176/council-eyes-developers-dollars
An interesting article from 2014 details the plans/ideas for Civic Square. We can see that some of these plans went ahead and others didn't.
"Civic Square: Revamp the public space costing $10m to cover as many of the following projects as possible in the next 10 years
- Possible public use of the ground floor of the Civic Administration Building
- Possible creation of bar/cafe space and retail space on the ground floor of the Municipal Office Building
- A partially enclosed Cuba Lane between the Town Hall and the Michael Fowler Centre
- Upgraded space between the Central Library and City Gallery
- New Harris St entrance to the City Gallery
- Reconfigure the courtyard bounded by Harris St, the library and the City Gallery."
Monday, 7 November 2016
Research
Thought about some urban art installations I already knew of and looked them up on the internet:
http://wellington.govt.nz/services/community-and-culture/arts/outdoor-public-art/murals/wellingtons-murals/southern-suburbs
This is one that pretty much all Massey students know about and is a great creative use of the concrete space.
There are a number of bus shelters on the Island Bay route that are painted like this one which are a really beautiful solution to such a mundane space.
Not the one I remember but demonstrates the concept none-the-less, where along the outside of the bus are alternative bodies to pair with passengers heads.
Then I moved on to researching other stuff:
A cool series of tyre installations in Barcelona to revitalise forgotten areas of the city.
http://inhabitat.com/barcelona-artists-use-old-tires-as-street-art-to-revitalize-the-city/
This was a really interesting play on scale.
These are really cool paintings that look so realistically dimensional. The only thing with these is that it only looks this way from one view point.
This installation from Thomas Canto looks really interesting however I'm not sure of its purpose.
https://streetartnews.net/2014/10/thomas-canto-creates-sculptural.html
Love love love this! Really clever way of actually taking something from a space to create something new rather than adding to a space.
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