01 Proposing 05 - urbantools.eu

The repositioning of urban design practice closer to the ‘ground’ and to the lives of urban dwellers is linked to the idea that the production of urban space is a shared enterprise, and that the ability to shape the urban environment is not exclusive to professionals (for instance, architects, planners, and policy makers). Rather, the city is understood as a social product, made by many actors who operate in the context of wider, often conflicting, economic and political forces. In order to address the tensions and synergies between such actors and forces, David Harvey elaborates on the notion of the ‘Right to the City’ as “a right to change oneself by changing the city” (Harvey, 2008). The right to the city calls for the democratisation of the power to shape the urban experience – through the direct transformation of physical space, as well as through changes in urban discourse, imagination, policy, and norms.

This understanding of the city as a social product also implies a different understanding of design, emphasizing the transformation of the built environment as a process that develops in time through the actions and imaginations of many. In this context, our role of ‘design experts’ is also re-defined, as agents “who effect change through the empowerment of others, allowing them to engage in their spatial environment in ways previously unknown or unavailable to them” (Awan et al., 2011). Through the notion of empowerment, the object of our proposals changes from finite objects and spaces, to processes and tools that can enable

01 ProposingLinks:T02 Setting Up a BaseT13 Interactive modelsT14 Scenario buildingT15 PrototypingT16 Catalyst interventions

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others to assert themselves, and give voice and form to their own aspirations. This means giving up the ideals of authorship and integrity for the design work, “as well as the assumption that users and builders are passive subjects, willing to conform their actions to the imagination of the architect” (MOM 2008).

Acting and collaborating with, and on behalf of others, urban designers and other built environment professionals step into a wider creative field, including a more complex range of future-oriented, propositional roles. By using collaborative strategies, our interventions might take the form of games, exploring scenarios of change; or we might advance options for public debate, or suggest processes of exchange and collaboration. As well we might opt for direct action – intervening in public space, and developing models and prototypes that elicit further proposals and conversations over the city’s future.

References

David Harvey, “The Right to the City,” in New Left Review 53 (2008): 23-40.

Fran Tonkiss, Cities by Design: The Social Life of Urban Form (London: Polity Press, 2013)

Nishat Awan, Tatjana Schneider, and Jeremy Till, “Introduction” in Spatial Agency: Other Ways of Doing Architecture (London: Routledge, 2011).

Camilla Bustamante, “The Urban Activist,” in Rory Hyde (ed.) Future Practice. Conversations from the Edge of Architecture (London: Routledge, 2012).

Nabeel Hamdi, Small Change: About the Art of Practice and the Limits of Planning in Cities (London: Earthscan, 2004).

MOM Morar de Outras Maneiras, “Architecture as Critical Exercise. Little Pointers Towards Alternative Practices,” in Field vol.2 no.1 (2008): 7-29.

Mirko Zardini and Giovani Borasi (eds.) Actions: What You Can Do with the City (Amsterdam: SUN, 2008).

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On the front page: SPARC, National Slum Dwellers Federation, Mahila Milan> Yerwanda slum upgrading. Photo: SPARC.


Participatory models

In participatory design and planning processes, three-dimensional models can provide a powerful way to actively engage people in the process of critiquing and re-imagining their own living environment. Models help to gauge interest, facilitate the presentation of ideas, and support the development of conversations about urban space.

Models used in collaborative design events are often made of parts that can be assembled and disassembled by participants. When developing a model within such events, you should design your tool in a way that easily allows de/construction, adaptation, and interaction.

References:

Wates, N. (2014) The Community Planning Handbook: How people can shape their cities, towns & villages in any part of the world. 2nd Edition. London: Earthscan.

“Planning for Real”. In MIT Urban Upgrading: Issues & Tools [Online]. Available at: http://web.mit.edu/urbanupgrading/upgrading/issues-tools/tools/Planning-for-Real.html

Methods:SurveyingProposing

Examples:E1. ReMake Castelgate, Sheffield, 2015

E2. 179 places: geographies of migration and rooting, Milan, 2012

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Above: 3D models as a tool to explore the ‘housing dreams’ of residents during ASF-UK Change by Design workshop (Salvador, 2010)


ReMake CastelgateLive Works / University of Sheffield, School of ArchitectureSheffield, 2015

“ReMake Castlegate is a project developed in partnership with Yorkshire Artspace and local artists as part of the Festival of the Mind 2014 in Sheffield. Castlegate has played an important part in the everyday lives of locals as it hosted the Castle Market, Castle House and many small businesses. In 2013 the markets closed (...), and the Council is planning to demolish the buildings and make way for a new city quarter. The impending changes have stirred many reactions from locals (...). ReMake Castlegate’ is a project that engaged directly with the people (...). We ran workshops with local community groups. Using a large 4.8×2.4 m model of Castlegate, we invited local people and businesses to construct a representation of the past, present and futures of Castlegate, while collecting stories, memories and opinions about the area” [Live Works, www.ssoaliveworks.wordpress.com].

About:

SSoA Live Works, ReMake Castlegate (https://ssoaliveworks.wordpress.com/projects/remake-castlegate/)

Butterworth C. et al. (eds.) (2015) Imagine Castlegate. Sheffield: University of Sheffield.

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179 places: geographies of migration and rootingStudio AlboriMilan, 2012

“In the course of a workshop held at Asnada School of Italian in Milan, more than ninety people born in 28 different countries used miniatures, models and engravings to reconstruct the places and landscapes of their past and present lives. Distances, experience of hiding, joys, hopes, disorientation, goodbyes, and new roots, are the materials with which these small healing structures were built. In the exhibition, each of them found its place among the others, to form a single large common installation/ landscape, which is a reflection on the places, ways and times we live in. The project follows a similar experience realised two years earlier at the Asinitas School in Rome and captured by an exhibition titled Extravagant Geography” [Studio Albori, www.albori.it]..

About:

Studio Albori, 179 Luoghi (www.albori.it/179-luoghi-geografie-della-migrazione-e-del-radicamento/)

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Scenario building

The term scenario is present in different contexts and with different meanings. Here, we allude to a range of design products and processes aimed at eliciting conversations on the possible/desirable futures of an urban area. Urbanist Raul Baunschoten describes scenarios as “narrations of urban possibilities, alternative realities, alternative practices”. This notion is based on the understanding that the future is intrinsically uncertain, and that change is part of “a continuing, deliberative work among multiple actors”. In this context ‘scenario building’ can be described as a means to creatively build, explore and visualise multiple hypotheses on future urban conditions, and to open up social conversations about design/planning decisions and their foreseeable consequences. There is a vast literature exploring scenario building as a design tool, and scenario building activities may range from participatory games and role-play exercises (Example 1), to research-led descriptions of emerging urban conditions (Example 2).

References:

Secchi, B. (2005) Diary of a Planner: Projects, Visions, Scenarios. Planum: the Journal of Urbanism [Online]. Available from: http://www.planum.net/projects-visions-scenarios [Accessed: 26 August 2015].

Chora and Baunschoten, R. (2001) Urban Floatsom. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers

Manzini, E. (2015) “Making Things Happen”. In: Design, When Everybody Designs. An Introduction to Design for Social Innovation. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Methods:Proposing

Examples:E1. Cross River Park Scenario Games, London, 2006

E2. Structure Plan Antwerp, Antwerp, 2007-2013

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Above: Scenario games as part of Chora’s urban gallery methodology. Image: Chora


Cross River Park Scenario GamesChoraLondon, 2006

“In April 2006 Chora worked with Knowledge East to undertake a scenario game workshop to test the potential development of the Cross River Park Area of the Thames Gateway. The Cross River Park area is fraught with difficulty. (...). Most of the area is at risk of flooding. It exhibits many of the difficulties both in the terrain and political complexity that are at play in the Thames Gateway region as a whole. (...) In one afternoon, eight different scenarios were played with stakeholders from different organisations. Issues included: the affect of industrial pollution on the local ecology; the lack of benefit to the local community of the proposed Thames Gateway Bridge; the impact of alternative energy production; the introduction of new riverside leisure amenities; the expansion of the sewage plant; and the result of regeneration on the local economy. The examples shown here indicate how the process can play out potential conflicts and create strategies for future development” (www.chora.org).

About:

Chora, 2006 Cross River Park Scenario Games (http://www.chora.org/?p=84)

Chora and Baunschoten, R. (2001) Urban Floatsom. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers

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Structure Plan AntwerpStudio Associato Bernardo Secchi Paola ViganòAntwerp, 2007-2013

“The new structure plan study for the city of Antwerp is a strategic and pioneer plan for urban planning tradition of Flanders, Belgium. (…) The plan is conceived through two ideal means: on one side the ‘images’, on the other side the ‘scenarios’. The ‘images’, based on both the city history and more recent interesting reflections (like the ecological ones) are the guidelines for future action and in particular for the construction of a ‘vision’; the ‘scenarios’, are a “what could happen if ….” analysis system: they allow to push further the project through a collective involvement of city actors and users, getting over traditional exclusively data based previsions. In this framework the plan adopts a strategy of renovatio urbis: in a general structure of urban space strategic projects are developed” (www.secchi-vigano.eu).

About:

Structure Plan Antwerp (http://www.secchi-vigano.eu/atS03/at%20S03_structuurplan.html)

Secchi, B. and Viganò, P. (2009) Antwerp: Territory of a New Modernity. Amsterdam: SUN Academia.

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Prototyping

Prototyping is a way to develop, test and improve ideas at the early stage of a project. Prototypes might vary from rough models and improvised role-plays, to detailed mock-ups of the space, the environment and the users of a project. The aim of prototypes is twofold: they are experiments and anticipations of possible solutions, as well as ways of making ideas visible and tangible to the interested actors. The making and testing of prototypes allows to communicate and critique proposals in-the-pipeline, and encourages to develop further ideas and information in an iterative creative process.

Methods:GatheringProposingCommentingCritiquing

Examples:E1. Learning in Leh, Leh, 2011

E2. Market Street Prototyping Festival, San Francisco, 2015

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Above: Isto é uma Praça! [En.tr.: This is a Square!]. A project for Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture developed by esterni.


Learning in LehArchitecture Sans Frontierès -UK (ASF-UK)Leh, 2011

Learning in Leh was a 2-weeks workshop undertaken by ASF-UK and SEEDS India in Leh, India. (…), Leh is at risk of earthquakes and flooding. “Using the Government Girls School as a focus, the workshop explored strategies for improving the safety and sustainability of the existing school buildings and improving the quality of the learning environment. A key part of the project was researching and learning from traditional buildings and studying and critiquing current building practices. During the workshop we experimented with traditional, salvaged and modern materials with an aim to promote their appropriate use”. Towards the end of the workshop, “the group identified and mapped potential material resources and skills and tested locally available materials and technologies by designing, developing and constructing prototypes”. Taking the form of accessible, public space installations, the development and critique of these these prototypes allowed the design team to generate further proposals, strategies and finally guidelines for longer term improvements to the school buildings. (www.asf-uk.org).

About:

Learning in Leh (http://www.asf-uk.org/learning-in-lehindia2011)

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Market Street Prototyping FestivalYerba Buena Center for the Arts and San Francisco Planning DepartmentSan Francisco, 2015

“Market Street runs through the heart of our beautiful city, yet it can feel uninviting and disconnected. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the San Francisco Planning Department, and the James L. Knight Foundation believe that Market Street should bring together people from different neighborhoods and backgrounds. That’s why they’ve joined forces to help us make it a more engaging and vibrant destination. An open call for creative ways to improve Market Street yielded hundreds of submissions from citizens and organizations. Fifty of these submissions were chosen to create rough models, or “prototypes”, that demonstrate how their idea would work. From April 9th – 11th, Market Street will come alive with these ideas. Its wide sidewalks will be filled with temporary installations ranging from performance spaces, relaxation zones, dynamic art pieces, and more. Come and walk the festival route, check out the installations, and tell us what you think. A selection of these designs will then move from prototype to reality, as part of our city’s Better Market Street initiative” (www.marketstreetprototyping.org).

About:

Market Street Prototyping Festival: www.marketstreetprototyping.org

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Prototypes on the Civic Center District:

3 For LifeBookmarkEmberFOGPLANEGhost ArroyosGuerilla Street MuseumLiving Roofs at Your Feet!Emoti BricksNeighborhood Preparedness UnitPlay EverydayTree Sitting Anchor Project

Prototypes on the Central Market District:

Art Central - Shimmering StarsMARKET [SCENES]Market Street as HabitatOutpost Anchor Project

peepSHOWPublic Ping Pong TablesShow BoxStreet SketchTenderloin ExertrailTimber Valley

Prototypes on the Retail Heart District:

Active RestAdaptive PlayscapesExchange Portals Anchor Project

MeetWallMobile Selfie BoothRainbow Prismatic ExperienceRoom for ThoughtSmaller and Upside DownUnsilence the NewsbinWalk [Market Street]

Prototypes on the Financial District:

Bench-Go-RoundDaily BoostData LanternIt’s News to MeMineral BenchesPeak ExperienceProtoHousePrototyping Mobility: CCA in the City Anchor Project

The Sound of EmotionUnderstory

Prototypes on the Embarcadero District:

Arena | PlayChimeSFCommon GroundKnock Stop Music Anchor Project

Musical PedalsNeuroFlowersRELAXThe CephalopodThe Zen DoorTree of Changes

UNITEDNATIONSPLAZA

HIBERNIABANK

TWITTER

MECHANIC’SPLAZA

525 MARKEtPLAZA

JUSTINHERMANPLAZA

FERRYBUILDINGPLAZA

FERRYBUILDING

BEALE STPLAZA

ONECALIFORNIA

PLAZA

BILL GRAHAMCIVIC

AUDITORIUM

ORPHEUMTHEATRE

RENOIRHOTEL

THE WARFIELDTHEATRE

WESTFIELDCENTER

YERBA BUENALANE

INT’L ART MUSEUMOF AMERICA

HALLIEDIEPLAZA ONE POST

PLAZA

CROWNZELLERBACH

PLAZA

FESTIVAL ROUTE MAP


Catalyst interventions

‘Catalyst interventions’ can be used to actively alter a specific urban setting in order to provoke or elicit reactions from various users of a spaces which may reveal otherwise hidden knowledge/ meaning/ opinions about it. ‘Catalyst interventions’ can also be used to (temporarily) explore the potential of a space/setting and already test the appropriateness of a proposition for it. In most cases the intervention will happen on a 1:1 scale although it is usually executed in a way with only a limited ‘life span’ of the installation in mind.

Today, catalyst interventions are also deliberately used by official city planning offices, or even private developers, to create a certain interest for an area or site that they want to develop or draw attention to.

References:

Philipp Oswalt, Klaus Overmeyer, Philipp Misselwitz, Urban Catalyst - The Power of Temporary Use (Berlin: DOM Publishers, 2013)

Florian Haydn and Robert Temel (eds) Temporary Urban Spaces (Basel: Birkhäuser 2006)

Methods:Proposing

Examples:E1. Space Buster, New York, NY. 2009

E2. The reUnion Public House, London, 2013

E3. various, - images: ‘It all began here’; ‘Palette Pavilion’; dance-o-mat’, Christchurch, New Zealand, since 2010

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Above: GLAS, ‘Urban Cabaret’ at the ‘Save Our Pool’ Gala Day, Glasgow-Gowanhill, 2001


Space BusterRaumlaborBerlinNew York, NY. 2009

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“Invited by Storefront for Art and Architecture the Spacebuster was developed and designed to explore the qualities and possibilities of public space in New York City. Spacebuster interacts with the architectural and the social space and its conditions. It opens urban space for temporary collective uses. … Traveling through Manhattan and Brooklyn on 9 consecutive evenings the Spacebuster hosted various events that emerged from cooperations of raumlaborberlin, the Storefront for Arts and Architecture and different local art institutions, nonprofit organizations and communities. … As a research tool the Spacebuster disclosed the peoples relation to the urban space as well as a quite big amount of invisible borders within the city that shape the built and the social space.”

About:

http://raumlabor.net/spacebuster/

https://vimeo.com/28605211


The reUnion Public HouseEXYZTLondon, 2013

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“In the spirit of the 1830 Beer Act in which anyone could apply for a licence and open up their front room to the public, to sell – and even brew – beer from their own home. The reUNION, was an illustration of what could be a Public House beyond the idea of a pub. … With the essential support of LAKE ESTATE, who lent us the land and granted the project to be kick out of the ground. EXYZT gathered again this year a broad range of people to deliver a self produced and self managed collective act of architecture and a place open to everyone in the heart of Southwark. … Inspired by the playful aspects in the history of the public houses, the reunion was an outdoor place where families could meet as neighbours, where kids would enjoy a simple paddling pool or hang out in that playful space. … The idea of hosting some temporary use throughout 4 years as help to clearly identify other potentials, probably better connected with the specificity of the site and its location.”

About:

http://www.exyzt.org/the-reunion/



Gap Fillergap fillerChristchurch, New Zealand, since 2010

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“Gap Filler is a creative urban regeneration initiative that facilitates a wide range of temporary projects, events, installations and amenities in the city. These short-term and comparatively small-scale projects are far less risky than new permanent developments – and consequently opens up opportunities for experimentation. … Working with local community groups, artists, architects, landowners, librarians, designers, students, engineers, dancers – anyone with an idea and initiative – we activate city spaces for temporary, creative, people-centred purposes. By recycling materials, teaming up with suppliers, harnessing volunteer power and being creative, Gap Filler proves that the regeneration of the city does not rely solely on large-scale developments by the private or public sectors. Great things can be achieved with community power and resourcefulness … Ultimately, Gap Filler aims to innovate, lead and nurture people and ideas; contributing to conversations about city-making and urbanism in the 21st century.”

About:

http://www.gapfiller.org.nz/



Charrettes

Charrettes are intensive design/planning events aimed at gathering and articulating multiple (and possibly diverging) points of view within a limited timeframe. They are used in different contexts and their structure may vary greatly depending on who is involved and for which purpose, but the focus is normally placed on intense interaction, and the participation of several different actors at once.

When designing a charrette, you should first clarify the aims of the event, and then plan carefully the ways in which you are expecting participants to interact with each other. This includes designing and making the prompts that may stimulate conversations, and planning the sequencing of activities and the links between them.

References:

Wates, N. (2014) The Community Planning Handbook: How people can shape their cities, towns & villages in any part of the world. 2nd Edition. London: Earthscan.

Methods:Proposing Communicating Critiquing

Examples:E1. Change by Design Kenya 2011, Nairobi, 2011Zealand, since 2010

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Above: Final design charrette bringing together local authorities, NGOs and community-based groups at ASF-UK Change by Design workshop (Cape Town, 2015)


Change by Design Kenya 2011Architecture Sans Frontierès -UK (ASF-UK)Nairobi, 2011

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“Change by Design 2011 is an action-research workshop undertaken in Nairobi, Kenya, by the NGO Architecture sans Frontières UK. The workshop was based in an informal settlement known as Mashimoni, “The two-weeks workshop culminated in a ‘portfolio of options exercise’ (...), the exercise engaged Mashimoni residents on site in planning their ideal upgrading settlement with a kit of ‘parts’ on a scaled site model. One by one, individual elements from the kit of parts were introduced and discussed. Participants debated the benefits and disadvantages of each option for that ‘part’ and through this dialogue, (...), participants then placed chosen options down onto the site model. The parts responded to key elements of slum upgrading in Mashimoni. We produced three kits, which had identical pieces. Eventually, after much negotiation, a model of an ‘ideal’ upgraded settlement was complete. (...) The main aim of the exercise was to test responses to specific issues within the much broader context of upgrading as a whole.” (Frediani et al., 2011: 146).

About:

Frediani, A.A., French, F., Nunez Ferrera, I. (2012) Change by Design. Building Communities through Participatory Design. New Zealand: Urban Culture Press.

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