Places from Spaces: Project Outline
The programme began with the premise that good design is concerned as much with what it allows to happen as with what something looks like. This is true of the designs for building and even more in the design of public space.
Attractive, safe and accessible public spaces are a vital element of any city and contribute not only to quality of life but also to such things as community cohesion , economic vitality and the recognition of a city as a place where people want to live and work.
The project brought together officers and members of the local authorities in Brighton, Portsmouth and Southampton with the universities in each of the cities to explore the nature and future development of public space through a series of workshops, study visits, seminars and temporary transformations in each city.
This programme identified actual sites that are subject to development plans and challenges the 'what if' scenarios of future visions, so rather than only say, the new town centre 'could be a vibrant market,' what if the existing space is licensed and hosts a market for two days to test what it really takes to make this happen?
Rather than say the new public spaces 'will become a place for meeting for new and existing communities', what if 400 chairs are introduced onto the site for 3 days with wardens to continually rearrange them to host events for different ages and interests?
Rather than say 'making a connection between the water and the town centre', what if for one day water is rerouted to allow paper boat races between river and town centre.
It is this approach that can lead to greater involvement in the decision making from a broad range of stakeholders. It can be the key to unlocking innovative and often simple and cost effective solutions. It can lead to greater use and diversity of use in public space. It can lead to the long term success and further investment in the public realm.
The programme was set up to:
- Challenge those parties who are charged to design, deliver and oversee the making of the public realm and inspire them to create more ambitious sustainable visions and to understand what it really takes to deliver a vision.
- Raise awareness of the value of quality public space to create quality places
- Provide inspiration and examples of good practice for others to draw on to encourage the adoption of best practice
- Stimulate debate within the region about what makes a 'great place'
- Make links between universities, local authorities and developers in order that theory and practice can inform public policy
- Promote site-specific design proposals for sustainable public spaces that can accommodate multiple uses
- Challenge the one-size fits all formulaic design of the public realm
The aim was to implement change in the public and private institutions through sharing experiences and skills to provide generic, rather than specific technical skills that enable the confidence and vocabulary for critical comment that is necessary in order for all the interested parties to constructively engage in the planning process.
The project was delivered through a partnership of Solent Centre for Architecture and Design and Kent Architecture Centre, along with Southampton University, Portsmouth University and Brighton University. This was supplemented with specialist advisors from Project for Public Space (New York), Snug and Outdoor (London), Helsinki University and University of Kent.
The project ran in two phases over a two year period and adopted a structure which took the participants through a series of activities and activities and training sessions leading up to implementation of a practical project , a temporary transformation of a space in each city which involved partnership working between the University tutors, students, professional architects and the local authorities.
Resources
This site includes a range of resources related to the project which are free for you to download. In order to do this you will require a user name and password. If you wish to access the resource library, please contact us by email
