essential urbanism

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Park(ing) Day

With some luck and a couple of spontaneous “yes”‘s I was able to participate in several publicly engaging events this weekend.  First was Park(ing) Day, an internationally annual event in which people convert metered parking spaces into temporary parks and public spaces for a day.  The event inspires barbecuers, artists, and environmentalists, many of which support the event for its anti-car and pro-pedestrian undertones.  The event has grown from San Fransisco to the globe, and as of last Friday, September 17 its participants included Syracuse University architecture students (including several from Crisis City).  Our particular event and park were mostly organized and designed by Crisis City student Gabriella Morrone (for images of the the design and construction click here).  I aided in the construction to a small extent, but mostly enjoyed hanging out in the park, enjoying a sunny day in the city, and engaging with visitors and workers in downtown Syracuse.  Most passer-bys asked what we were doing, but as we explained that we were ‘participating to claim the street as pedestrian public space’, I was surprised so many people were so reactionary.  While many people simply celebrated our cause, many people, asked, “What about businesses”, “where will we park”, “why does this matter?”  The most recurrent negative reaction was a concern for business and visitors to downtown.  It became clear that many people had a different attitude toward public space than I did, and although our aim was the same, simply advocating ‘public space’ is banal and open to misinterpretation.  Throughout the day it became a challenge to offer my opinions on what public space meant, and to offer examples of positive results of public space initiatives (including economic).  The fact that my viewpoints about something I see as generally critical as public space were not congruent with that of the urban citizen, I began to speculate on the essentially of public engagement.  How can I design public space without considering the publics connotations towards it.  The architect must engage with the city to correctly build in the city.

Sukkah City

In addition to Park(ing) Day, I was also given the opportunity to participate in the construction of Peter Sagar’s  Time/Timeless Sukkah that was part of New York City’s Sukkah City competition.  Peter, an architecture student in the UK had gotten in touch with a friend of mine living willow designer, Bonnie Gale (who Peter had chosen to pre-construct his willow roof), and she later got in touch with myself and fellow Crisis City members Timothy Gale and Dennis Harvey.  We headed into the city Saturday and met Peter in New York that evening to begin assembling and finishing constructing his Sukkah on the Union Square site.  Peter had began construction early that week with a carpenter named Josh in a studio space in Brooklyn.  After the pieces that had been pre-constructed were delivered to the site, we worked through the night along with the 11 other Sukkah finalists, finishing to a crowd that morning at 9:00 am.    Beyond the benifits of shared knowledge and experiences between Peter, Josh, Timothy, Dennis, and myself, building a hut in Union Square through a Saturday night and a Sunday morning, brought engagement with a diverse and inquisitive audience.  Highlighted by spot lights, cranes, and police tape, the construction of the Sukkah’s initially brought a large crowd.  As people realized we werent movie stars and they were not going to be on television, the crowds became more manageable and we began to have really authentic and generative conversations with New Yorker’s.  Given the Sukkah’s role in Jewish tradition, many people stopped by with religious interests, but a majority of inquirers were designers, artists, and curious citizens.  Although the promises to come back in the morning became less reliable as the morning approached and peoples interest became more diluted, I did recognize many faces the next morning.  Working through the night with Peter was fun, it was tough, but the reaction from the crowd of visitors the next day was truly inspiring.  Every architect wants to build something in New York City because of the cities rich architectural legacy but also because of the energy of its citizenry.  Experiencing this vicariously through Peter and authentically through my own role in the projects realization was a priceless experience.  Peter’s design was beautiful on paper, but seeing it realized and occupied towards such joy and and inspiration reminded me of the effect of architecture and the spiritual importance of beauty.  There was also a more practical exchange based on the common material of plywood in which the structure was constructed.  Many DIY’ers would simply ask us questions about detailing and structure.  I taught at least 10 people how to sandwich wood without showing nails or screws.   Architecture and art existing in or towards public space is one of the most valuable ways to use design towards positive change.  Whether a park, an occupied building, or simply a rendering, architecture must have its aim at public engagement.  Only then is it architecture, only this is it real.

The completed Sukkah City: Sunday morning September 20 at 10:00 am