::the work

Public spaces in modern cities nowadays are transit and meaningless to most citizens. I propose to rejuvenate and activate the public spaces by distributing objects and systems of three levels. These are general and not specific to be built. The form and content of these ideas are left for creatives to explore, and for passerby to contribute.

(1) an object that tells its stories about happenings of the neighborhood,

(2) a wall for reading the current dog-walking activities, and kinetic interface for a tangible feel of the distribution of "laughters" of the city,

(3) a seating system that invites dwellers of the same or different public spaces to play games together.

Central to this proposal is the question to the traditional way of ubran design and planning, especially the idea of a master plan. I believe a city and its public spaces will be more energetic and interesting, if the form of it is emerged from people's mundane daily activities, with encounters to other people through games and interventions. By distributing the possibilities of serendipities and surprises and reflections, I want to change the city space into a huge playground that is constantly adaptive and changing, which turns public spaces into places that are can be theatrical stages for our everyday presentation. A city should be remembered in terms of the repetitives with events, experiences and surprises, not just streets and blocks. This way of thinking will potentially also change the way blocks and streets can be designed.

::acknowledgement

thanks Richard and the class for valuable critique and inputs.