This project represents a commitment to a non-extractive, adaptable public design that offers infinite opportunities for interaction.
Our urban environment is lacking amenities that would accommodate various types of activities for users in the public sphere in a proper and secure manner. How can we intervene on a problematic public environment to generate a space that would be accommodating and inviting for people to use and inhabit in diverse ways? Our aim was to produce a safe and playful public environment that would allow a diversity of uses for the people by altering the topography of that space.
Assimilation of the blocks into the environment.
The same module could be used for sitting, playing, performing and/or interacting, depending on the will of the user. The images below are from Raw - Furnish creating a space for play, using the same materials and ideology as for - A Space for Interaction. The prototype was designed and fabricated by an Elisava Research team led by Antoni Montes and Roger Paez. The prototype was tested in Barcelona in December 2021 and shared in open source so it can be implemented throughout Europe.
We started by understanding the dimensions of the available material and understanding ergonomic dimensions required to create a habitable space. This knowledge was used to create the basic module that can then be repeated. Various modules have been made by aligning and stacking blocks generate the topography of our intervention and allows people to use the space however they see fit. Some of the modules are intertwined and some are standalone.
The arrangement of the blocks in a linear manner work as an extension of the sidewalk into out site of intervention while also blurring the limits between our installation and the surrounding roads. Safety is ensured by greenery that forms soft limits. The different levels of stacking allow versatility of use for various activities to happen simultaneously.
We started by understanding the dimensions of the available material and understanding ergonomic dimensions required to create a habitable space. This knowledge was used to create the basic module that can then be repeated.
It is an open, modular system made up of prefabricated rammed earth units, which can be adapted to the circumstances of the surroundings. It is based on a single piece that can be stacked and arranged in different configurations. This generates levels, sequences, and nooks that endow the public space with qualities that attract activities associated with school environments.
This project serves as a prototype that supports free, safe play in the city through the temporary transformation of public space.
