Vol. 7 No. 10 (2017): Public Space and an Interdisciplinary Approach to Design (eng)
The crisis of contemporary public space is a question of interest to all architects.The economic, social and cultural crisis, in particular affecting the entire European continent, is clearly and originally reflected in the public spaces of our cities, more and more of which are now considered "heritage". Beyond the phenomenon of "non-places" - always the work of the private sector - and considering the contraction in public spending and proposals, of interest here is the investigation of the growing number of manifestations of the bottom-up generation/transformation of public space. This approach clearly exposes the new demands related to uses and forms, but above all the crisis of architectural culture when speaking of its design. They include the reappropriation, by society, of abandoned spaces; the ecological/agricultural use of residual areas; the spontaneous configuration of undesigned, temporary and anonymous public spaces; phenomena of public art and urban activism that are often the result of the geolocalised network. Public space and the public realm, due to their original facets, are once again a theme of interest for architects, but also for philosophers, sociologist and anthropologists (J. Habermas, D. Innerarity, Z. Bauman, M. Augé), as complex "spaces" to be decomposed.
Hence, a few questions: Does the analysis of public space and an approach to design, in a reality that considers a different concept of "public" than that of the past century comport a new way of looking? A new urban-architectural nomenclature? An interdisciplinary approach to design?
Published:
2017-07-28
