Blog
The Element of Surprise in Public Spaces
Posted by Rebecca Eggleston on July 14, 2009 |
Here’s another example of a city putting the challenge out to “interdisciplinary teams to think about the changing role of public spaces.”
This one asked those submitting proposals to rethink the hidden spaces and laneways of Sydney’s city center and bring vibrancy to forgotten parts of the city, with sustainability an important part of the creative brief, according to the Sydney Morning Herald article.
Eight projects were selected for different sites, including the transformation of a back street in the heart of Sydney into a forest of silver birch trees, a giant barcode of white fluorescent tubes that pedestrians will walk through, and a canopy of bird cages that people will walk beneath while “they hear the sound of birds long gone from the concrete jungle.”
Unexpected use of spaces in the planned center is seen as having great potential to contribute to the future success of the downtown area.