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Elena Montanari Enhancing Urban Rooms

Architecture Atmosphere Enhancing the Rooms Authorship Delayering of the City. Insights from Experimental practices Contemporary Urban Disposition Rooms of the city Distribution Domestic terrain Urban Among the phenomena characterising architectural research Integral design and practice at the turn of the twenty-first century, the growing

Interactivity interest in and engagement with the design of urban spaces can be considered as a pivotal step in the evolution and the Interiority effectiveness of interior design tools and strategies, especially Light in response to the challenges posed by contemporary cities. By New consumers analysing a wide array of recent experiences, the text intends to Occupation highlight the development of a profoundly experimental approach.

Project

Representation Elena Montanari Disciplinary perspectives on urban ferences, research projects, and the literature pro- interior design duced on related topics, but also in the expansion While the context of contemporaneity seems to be of implemented experiences and increased aware- increasingly challenging the traditional strategies ness concerning its identity. It is indeed becoming Sociocultural “Interior design is standing out and tools of architectural research and practice—by more and more clear that its specificities do not lie Space design as a crucial field for theoretical advancing new questions and possibilities related in either the scale or in the focus pertaining to the to the application of innovative means, materials mere design of single objects or surfaces, but rather Space theories and practical advancement and technologies; the optimisation of comfort and in a peculiar approach to the architectural project, Strategic habitat and experimentation” safety issues; the acknowledgment of urgent con- which places the configuration and equipment of cerns about and conservation; the the inhabitable space and its quality in hosting peo- Technology Elena Montanari, who holds a Ph.D. in Interior problematisation of the adaptive reuse of built her- ple, their needs and gestures at the core of all forms Trends Architecture and Exhibition Design, graduated as itage; the interweaving of global and local stances; of planning and activities.2 an at Politecnico di Milano, where she is Triple bottom line and the connection with complex socio-cultural This approach can be potentially applied to any currently Adjunct Professor of Interior Design at phenomena—interior design is standing out as a context, scale or type of intervention—and, in gen- the Scuola di Architettura e Società, and Research Fellow at the Department of Architettura e Studi crucial field for theoretical and practical advance- eral, to all ‘spatial units, enclosed “vacuums”, and 1 Well-being Urbani (DAStU). ment and experimentation. The growing resonance dynamic sequences of the poly-dimensional and of the discipline can be appraised in the prolifera- multi-perspectival hollows, where human life and Work space tion and broadening of international debates, con- interactions take place’.3

1 Luca Basso Peressut, Imma Forino, Genaro Postiglione, 2 Carlo De Carli, Architettura spazio primario, Hoepli, Milan, Roberto Rizzi (eds.), Interior Wor(l)ds, Allemendi, Turin, 1982. 2010. Gianni Ottolini, Forma e significato in architettura, Laterza, Graeme Brooke and Lois Weinthal (eds.), The Handbook of Rome/Bari, 1992. and Design, Bloomsbury Academic, London, 2013. 3 Bruno Zevi, Architettura in nuce, Sansoni, Florence, 1972, p. 44.

77 30 ELISAVA Temes de Disseny Elena Montanari Enhancing Urban Rooms

‘What we call interior space is not defined by the of the ‘rooms of the city’ seem to be ever less based negative relationship or logic inversion of “exterior on the mere renovation of surfaces or on the addi- space”, but rather by its genetic “interiority”, its or- tion of single objects (i.e. street ), and in- igin and qualification as space in itself’.4 Therefore, creasingly on the evaluation of the overall quality ‘The spatial experience that characterises Architec- of the place, on the relationship and the consistency ture develops throughout the city, the streets, the between the different elements that connote ‘con- squares, the parks, wherever man delimitated some taining’ and ‘contained’ space,7 on their ability to “empty” spaces, this is to say wherever he has cre- coherently fulfil both functional and formal tasks, 1 Karin Zeitlhuber and Richard Zeitlhuber, Ilgplatz, Vienna (Austria), 2004. Courtesy of Karin Zeitlhuber and Richard Zeitlhuber. ated enclosed spaces’.5 Indeed, although every built as well as enhance representation issues, foster so- volume defines a threshold or boundary in the spa- cial and cultural attractiveness, identify and fulfil tial continuity of the city, which contributes to cre- individual and collective needs and/or behaviours.8 tieth century, when a sequence of economical, de- Marc Augé12 has defined as ‘non places’), usually ate different types of spaces (indoor spaces defined mographic and socio-cultural phenomena began to distributed in suburban areas. by architectural works, and outdoor spaces enclosed deeply modify their structure, use and sense. In the In the 1970s, a renewed attention to the quality within these works), moving from an indoor to an Enhancing urban rooms in the European context, the sudden expansion of cities as of urban space began to emerge, provoking a host of outdoor space actually implies moving from one in- ‘reconquered’ city a response to massive immigration flows triggered interventions aimed at restoring the position of man terior space to another, from a room of a building to Expanded interest in the enhancement of urban by industrial development in urban areas and the at the core of the rooms of the city, and at re-acti- a ‘room of the city’.6 rooms to produce significant experiences and con- consequent urgent claim for new residential units vating these for meetings, exchanges and represen- The spreading of this disciplinary perspective, tents relates to a general increase in efforts focused began to deconstruct former borders, profoundly al- tations. The efforts to enhance open public spaces as the implementation of the specific interior design on the reactivation of open public places, which has tering traditional forms of urban space,10 and swiftly inhabitable places began with the pedestrianisation approach in the arrangement of public spaces, are been strengthened over the past few decades. and chaotically creating new clusters, characterised of the main squares in historical areas. By removing confirmed and proven by several recent studies, The rich attribution of meanings and activities by complex aggregation models and diffused distri- traffic from strategic zones or hindering automobile investments and interventions in the field. In fact, which characterised urban spaces in historical cit- bution of dwellings and services.11 This widespread access to the city centre, and by improving the at- projects related to the definition or re-qualification ies9 was drastically reduced at the turn of the twen- territorial organisation increased the importance tractiveness of public spaces by reconfiguring their of public and private vehicles, which would be- formal and functional programmes, several city come a fundamental presence, progressively invad- centres were thus ‘reconquered’13 and transformed

4 De Carli, C. Op. Cit., p. 362. ing streets that would soon be dominated by cars, into lively platforms for markets, social encounters and squares, which turned into parking areas. The and cultural events. Gradually, these restoration 5 Bruno Zevi, Saper vedere l’Architettura, Einaudi, Turin, 1948, p. 32. consequent prevalence of means of transport over initiatives began to spread throughout the city, af-

6 If ‘Architecture comes from the making of a room’, as pedestrians, the decreasing safety and the overall fecting ordinary places too, eventually extending to stated by Louis I. Kahn, a square or a street ‘is a room by impoverishment of urban environments (due, for marginal and neglected environments (e.g. river- agreement. A community room, the walls of which belong to the donors … and whose ceiling is the sky’. Excerpts instance, to the predominance of asphalt expanses sides, abandoned plots, etc.) and even reaching out from Drawings for the City/2 Exhibition, 1971. and to the reduction of figurative and material ex- to suburban areas.

7 According to renowned and design historian pressions of urban floors) fostered a growing disaf- Over recent years, commitment to the restitution Renato De Fusco, every interior space is defined by the fection and gradual abandonment of the rooms of of public spaces to communities has been enhanced relationship between ‘container’ (involucro: the sum of the surfaces and objects which shape a space) and ‘content’ the city. These phenomena were complemented by by the growing number of interventions focused on (invaso: the space where human life and interactions the move of the collective activities which had tra- the rezoning of unclaimed urban spaces (e.g. vacant take place). In: Renato De Fusco, Storia dell’arredamento, UTET, Turin, 1993. ditionally taken place in open public spaces to new lots and strips transformed into playgrounds, com- indoor commercial and cultural ‘containers’ (that munity allotments, venues for participative activi- 8 When stating that ‘A city is the place of availabilities … where a small boy, as he walks through it, may see something that will tell him what he wants to do his whole life,’ Louis I. Kahn highlighted the power of the urban environment in inspiring imagination and fostering 10 Rob Krier, Urban Space, Academy Editions, London, 1979. 12 Marc Augé, Non-Places. Introduction to an Anthropology of self awareness. In: Vincent Joseph Scully, Louis I. Kahn, Roger Trancik, Finding Lost Space. Theories of Urban Supermodernity, translated from the French by John Howe, Braziller, New York, 1962, p. 12. Design, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1986. Verso, London, 1995.

9 Camillo Sitte, Der Städte-Bau nach seinen Künstlerischen 11 Thomas Sieverts, Cities Without Cities: An Interpretation 13 Jan Gehl, Cities for People, Island Press, Washington, 2010. Grundsätzen, Verlag von Carl Graeser, Vienna, 1880. of the Zwischenstadt, Routledge, London, 2003. Marco Romano, La città come opera d’arte, Einaudi, Turin, 1 In Situ-Jourda, Requalification of the Banks of the Rhone, 2008. Lyon (France), 2008. Courtesy of In Situ-Jourda.

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ties, etc.), by investments in the recovery of unused Over the centuries, people have always tended to urban interiors. This renovated approach ensues the overall form, function and meaning of spaces.20 suburban areas (e.g. large fields and disused plants gather in squares and streets to trade, debate and from the combination of several aspects, includ- The resulting interventions consist in complex spa- transformed into fully equipped parks), and even participate in joint activities, in a spatial framework ing improved interactions with other branches of tial manipulations designed to encourage alterna- by attention to spaces which were not originally suggested and shaped to assert and celebrate a par- knowledge (the growing interest in the possibility tive ways of looking at, understanding and using designed to be habitable, such as the areas situated ticular political, religious or social meaning or order of architectural interventions to influence percep- public spaces, attributing to each room of the city beneath or at the centre of infrastructural systems (conveyed by the configuration of the place, or the tions and behaviours has been enhanced by the in- a specific, resonant and clear identity by means of (subways, roundabouts, etc.), qualified as accessible presence of special symbols, art works or referen- terdisciplinary exploration of patterns common to remarkable formal features (e.g. through the imple- and habitable thanks to site-specific actions, and tial objects such as porches, sculptures, fountains, sociology, psychology, anthropology, etc.), the use mentation of particular or recurrent geometrical annexed to the urban structure as additional (and etc.17). Nowadays, once the bond between the design of new materials, means and technologies (which references, materials or colours) and engaging func- unexpected) rooms. of urban rooms and the representation of identity tional opportunities (e.g. through special furniture, This ever growing interest in the enhancement messages has been broken, the relationship between “The ever growing interest or multi-purpose surfaces and objects, which may of public spaces, which extends to all urban do- individuals and the collectivity has been diluted and incite new ways of walking, sitting, relaxing and in- mains (even peripheral and neglected areas), reveals there is widespread distraction and disaffection to- in the enhancement of teracting with other people). These renovated envi- a deep and significant transformation in the overall wards public spaces, which are experienced en pas- public spaces reveals ronments are conceived to produce memorable ‘ex- approach to the design of urban rooms. On the one sant,18 the capacity of urban rooms to attract and to periences’ and, eventually, foster new sociocultural hand, as the outstanding growth of the urban pop- communicate with people appears to be increasingly a deep and significant rituals. ulation14 fosters the expansion and density of cities, committed to the architectural elements that shape, transformation in the bringing greater numbers of people to increasingly organise, equip and signify them. overall approach to the developed environments, public spaces are ever The feverish wave of interventions that has Experimenting with new approaches, more clearly conceived as important resources, pro- evolved over the last two decades highlights the design of urban rooms” strategies and tools viding crucial opportunities for improving the qual- fact that the reactivation of public spaces is being The experimentations that ensue from this intense ity of the city and the life of its dwellers, fostering pursued through a more experimental approach to expand the opportunities to develop innovative context are resulting in a wide and various set of new activities, cultural possibilities and encounters. design strategies and tools, which are articulated, formal and functional programmes, through digi- requalification projects, ranging from overall Furthermore, the change in their understanding modulated and tested to improve not only safety tal devices for instance, that materialise interactive site-specific reconfigurations to the insertion of a triggered by the transition from historical to mod- and comfort, but also recognisability, ‘imageabil- experiences, or specially designed light systems, that single catalysing object (e.g. a captivating piece of ern cities, as a result of which public spaces ceased ity’,19 and social and cultural attractiveness, in or- operate outstanding redefinitions of the image and furniture or art work, arousing particular or con- to be collective dwelling and representation areas15 der to elicit and facilitate new forms of interaction signification of a place without applying physical troversial messages and practices), or from perma- and became connective zones in-between built vol- and appropriation. The new challenges and tasks transformations), and the assimilation of non-tra- nent renovations to temporary rearrangements or umes dedicated chiefly to the circulation of people associated with the qualification of today’s urban ditional architectural tools, languages and practices installations (which may be designed to arouse new and vehicles, has been overcome by a new vision environments have fostered more intense synergies such as art works transformed from instruments for perspectives, or test a solution that might be per- focused on the life between the ,16 thus with interior design principles and instruments, conveying political, religious or social messages that manently applied later). Despite the significant het- questioning the role of architectural means in the triggering the development of more complex dis- helped shape places in merely compositional terms, erogeneity of the tasks, methods and means of these development of new social rituals. ciplinary methodologies for the arrangement of to architectural elements intertwined with the de- interventions, we may recognise certain trends that sign of surfaces and objects (through an increasing stand out as particularly pre-eminent or promising. integration into furniture) and greatly influencing Among recent ongoing experiences, a relevant

14 For the first time ever, the majority of the world’s 17 Françoise Choay, Espacements. Figure di spazi urbani nel number of projects seem to be based on the alterna- population lives in a city, and this trend continues to grow. tempo, Skira, Milan, 2003. tion or substitution of traditional material, formal One hundred years ago, 2 out of every 10 people lived and functional characters, and on the integration of in an urban area. In 2010, more than half of the global 18 Giandomenico Amendola, La città postmoderna. Magia e paure 20 The design of urban interiors has developed a stricter population lived in a city; by 2030, this proportion is likely della metropoli contemporanea, Laterza, Rome/Bari, 2003. relationship with art languages, instruments and extravagant, unexpected and non-codified elements to be 6 out of every 10 people (source: Global Health 19 According to Kevin Lynch, ‘imageability’ refers to the quality expressions, due to the increasing implementation or references. Such arrangements shape striking and Observatory). of a physical object or space, produced by well-designed, of spatial features in contemporary art works. By distinct and meaningful paths, edges, districts, nodes and experimenting with new materials, dimensions and resonant urban rooms, surprising, thrilling and in- 15 Christian Norberg-Schulz, The Concept of Dwelling, configurations (and, sometimes, becoming accessible) Electa/Rizzoli, Milan, 1985. landmarks. Together with legibility, it allows us to read the viting people to interact with surfaces, objects and city’s landscape image, to perceive its components (identity, and thus developing more advanced relations with the context, they have begun to contribute more actively to 16 Jan Gehl, Life Between Buildings. Using Public Space, structure, meaning) and to make a place attractive and the organisation, perception and signification of squares, Arkitektens forlag, Copenhagen, 2001. vibrant. In: Kevin A. Lynch, The Image of the City, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1960. streets and parks.

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spaces through new forms of exploration, use and disguised or dressed as iconic figures (Italo Rota, gering the dynamics associated with play,25 they attribution of meaning. Foro Italico, Palermo, Italy, 2006). Water released provide the pretext for avoiding good manners and The tasks of these interventions ensue from the from the perimeters of fountains sprouts from the social conventions (‘don’t jump in puddles’, ‘don’t physical and socio-cultural context of contempo- pavement (Christian Drevet, Place des Terreaux, climb on monuments’, ‘sit down properly’), offer rary cities, which are besetting people with grow- Lyon, France, 1994) and flows through pedestrian low-cost adventures (‘get wet’, ‘squirt water’, ‘take ing numbers of signs, information and stimuli, paths and promenades (SLA, Nørresundby ur- your shoes off’, ‘run and jump’, ‘lie on surfaces, ob- fostered by the heightened mobility of knowledge, ban garden, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2005), or else jects and sculptures at discretion’) and foster a per- images and ideas, and the accelerated mutation of evaporates into unstable clouds (Michel Corajoud, sonal appropriation of public spaces. landscape, cultural-scapes and societal dynamics. Water , Bordeaux, France, 2006). Pavements Analysing some of the enhancement interven- Considering the consequent dilatation of the ‘field and horizontal surfaces are re-shaped (Bruce Nau- tions based on the introduction of particularly of obviousness’21 and the misinterpretation of what man, Square Depression, Münster, Germany, 2007), evocative characters, we detect another interest- is ‘interesting’ (often being confused with what is light up (2b_architectes, Place du Molard, Geneva, ing trend, which, funnily enough, operates in the ‘extra-ordinary’), the attempts to reactivate the re- Switzerland, 2004) or written (Gordon Young, opposite direction. Indeed, in some cases the in- lationship between man and urban spaces often rely Stone Jetty, Morecambe, United Kingdom, 1996); sertion of special elements is not intended to be on the possibility of producing new interpretation they convey messages and display information, and striking and surprising, but rather to evoke famil- and appropriation opportunities by inciting curios- sometimes even emit sounds (Nikola Bašić, Sea Or- iar, recognisable features. This domestic approach 1 The big blocks that Monika Gora places in woods and squares ity, estrangement or playful engagement. This ludic gan, Zadar, Croatia, 2005) and become animated are mysterious objects (Jimmys, 2004), even though the clear is found in the forms, figures and references taken approach materialises in the manipulation of the (SLA, Square of the 100 Puddles, Copenhagen, - metaphoric reference to the figure of a rock, that in natural from interior house spaces, décor and furniture to spaces is used as a sitting place, instinctively invites users to sit stereometric and matter repertory that has histor- mark, 2005). The functional performances of these down. Photograph and copyright by Monika Gora. shape the elements defining urban rooms, a strat- ically characterised the identity of streets, squares elements remain unaltered in their basic capacity egy that frequently results in the design of urban and parks, and in the transformation of their tra- (such as enclosing a space or receiving the human equipment like chairs (NIP Paysage, Pause!, Mon- ditional expressive, symbolic and social meanings. body), albeit the unusual formal, material and chro- treal, Canada, 2005), or surfaces like carpets (Boris Drawing on the fact that benches, street lamps, matic references enrich the articles with new possi- image of places and promote interaction. As such, Podrecca, Via Mazzini requalifications, Verona, pavements, etc. can play further roles beyond their bilities of use and meaning. they represent a new generation of landmarks,23 Italy, 1998). It could, however, also refer to arche- primary functions (for example, organising differ- Besides the manipulation of traditional elements, which are inserted into urban environments in a typal house shapes such as the gable roof (Atelier ent areas, guiding pathways), they have become the the project for the reactivation of public space also ‘lighter’ way (usually implemented with reversible, Oslo and AWP, Lanternen, Sandnes, Norway, 2008), object of courageous experimentations, combining involves filling it with unconventional and unex- demountable, recyclable and/or ephemeral tools) yet organisation, i.e. spatial distribution (Collectif Etc., technological , ecological themes and pected objects that act as catalysts for re-signifying show powerful communicative abilities. Place au Changement, Saint Étienne, France, 2011) artistic research,22 profoundly modifying their places. These could be puzzling nets that hang over Given that the ‘things we encounter for the first or structure, as in the aggregation of rooms (Heri & conventional appearance, and transfiguring them parking areas (NL , Das Netz, Berlin, Ger- time leave a profound impression on us’,24 these el- Salli, Flederhaus, Vienna, Austria, 2011). These ex- through organic modelling procedures or the at- many, 2007), mysterious enlightened stones that ap- ements are aimed at triggering a curious and ironic perimentations are meant to promote the creation tribution of new sizes or material features. Walls pear in parks and squares (Monika Gora, Jimmys, approach to urban rooms and encourage active of an emotional bond and thus foster a sense of be- and fences twist, bend, protrude and expand to be- different squares in Malmö, Berlin, Copenhagen, exploration, both physical and emotional. By trig- longing in time and place. come benches, nooks (Elies Torres and J. Antonio 2004), huge inflatable red balls that people roll along On a further , this domestic trend can also Martínez Lapeña, Plaça de la Constitució, Girona, urban paths (Kurt Perschke, Redball Project, world- be detected in the attempts to actualise those key Spain, 1993), playgrounds or stepping stones (Ate- wide, ongoing). Beyond their specific functionality, features that allow people to inhabit the city ‘as if 24 Wassily Kandinsky, On the Spiritual in Art, The Solomon 26 lier Remy, Playground Fence, Dordrecht, Nether- these evolved bodies and surfaces are eloquent aes- R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York, 1989, p. 43. they were at home’. This strategy focuses on the ar-

lands, 2007). Benches, street lamps and bollards are thetic presences that draw attention, reorganise the 25 Play is a free and voluntary activity, exerting a strong rangement of public spaces that may be extensively power of involvement because it is accompanied by a accessible; safe, because they prevent accidents sense of tension and joy, an awareness of being different from ordinary life, and the illusion of living a cathartic (avoiding sliding surfaces or obstacles, for instance) moment of transgression. The evolution from ‘Homo 21 Giandomenico Amendola, Op.cit., p. 9. 23 As defined by Kevin Lynch, landmarks are ‘strategic and guarantee security (organising spaces in order sapiens’ to ‘Homo ludens’ theorised by sociologist Johan focuses … set in routes junction points or in the Huizinga in 1938 (and anticipated by the Futurists) today to facilitate overall visual control, thereby prevent- 22 Lucio Altarelli, Romolo Ottaviani, Il sublime urbano. concentration of peculiar characters’. In: Lynch, K. The seems to adopt a new ludic, flexible and ‘liquid’ attitude, Architettura e new media, Mancosu, Rome, 2007. Image of the City, Op. cit., p. 51. In the contemporary city, that shows signs of prevailing in contemporary cultures. ‘Landmarks are no more symbolic, they are visual … thus they count not only monuments, but also 26 Ugo La Pietra, Abitare la città, Allemandi, Turin, 2011. panels, articles and natural elements. Aldo Aymonino, Valerio Paolo Mosco, Architettura a volume zero, Skira, Milan, 2006, p. 63. 82 83 30 ELISAVA Temes de Disseny Elena Montanari Enhancing the Rooms of the City

ing illicit acts); comfortable, correctly shaped and measured by the possibility of having people from porary museums and to the furtherance of practices adequately equipped; and clearly legible.27 In other different cultural groups come together in a sup- that employ surfaces and objects as opportunities words, the strategy has a clear formal and func- portive context of mutual enjoyment,29 today this for promoting expression, fostering communica- tional programme that it applies to readable per- task is increasingly complexified by ongoing socio- tion, spreading knowledge and raising awareness. ceptive thresholds (changing materials and levels cultural dynamics. Phenomena such as the acceler- Another similar effort is the use of public spaces or the positioning of particular objects, aiming to ated mobility of people, exemplified by the displace- as stages for participative practices: people’s engage- organise flows and distinguish different areas, such ment of groups and individuals in pursuit of better ment in decision-making, design and realisation as vehicular lanes, bicycle paths and pedestrians lives, jobs and study opportunities, the globalised processes is meant to establish a new awareness of walkways). The significance of implementing these movement of goods and objects, the circulation of features is strengthened by a renovated approach information, knowledge and ideas travelling at un- 1 Ma0, Renovation of Piazza Risorgimento, Bari, Italy, 2004. “By dealing with an that prefers to value specific places than apply stan- precedented speed, are all contributing to the cre- dard solutions. By enhancing urban rooms around ation of multilayered cultural systems, weakening increasing diversity of the natural, historical and/or cultural assets em- community bonds, diluting place identities, etc. lifestyles and customs, bedded in their context (through the site-specific up, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 2010), invite personal By dealing with an increasing diversity of lifestyles design of surfaces and objects, the choice of local interpretations of space (West 8, Schouwburgplein, and customs, public spaces do indeed represent cru- public spaces do materials, etc.), thereby magnifying their particular Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 1996), but also offer cial contact zones where ‘cultures meet, clash, and indeed represent crucial genius loci,28 these practices intend to create a more further possibilities of interaction between place grapple with each other’.30 In this complex and ev- contact zones” effective bond between each peculiar place identity and people, as well as among different users (Ma0, er-changing situation, the continuous in-depth in- (valued, recreated or redefined) and the community. Piazza Risorgimento, Bari, Italy, 2004). vestigation of the rules governing the cultural uses Another aspect of the domestic approach focuses of contemporary urban spaces should be considered place, facilitate encounters and dialogue, and there- on upgrading the relationship between spaces and as a key condition that guarantees the possibility fore offer new opportunities for building or rein- users, who are increasingly empowered as actors and Multiple stances, a common focus: of influencing the processes that make spaces into forcing connections and a sense of belonging. Some effectively help define urban rooms. Indeed, several advancing further perspectives and places, and effectively exploits the potentialities of attempts at community involvement have been ex- experiments provide them the possibility to interact potentialities in the design of urban urban interior design in shaping and promoting plored in the choice of elements that connote space with the equipment and conforming elements, and rooms societal change through constructive experiences, (BIG, Topotek1 and Superflex, Superkilen, Copen- to bring about major or minor transformations. This The various strategies aimed at enhancing the interactions and exchanges. hagen, Denmark, 2011), or in their implementation strategy is being developed through the use of mo- rooms of the city, be they grounded on the produc- Some recognisable trends in the arrangement of (Jaume Plensa, Crown Fountain, Millenium Park, bile furniture, for instance, as despite the traditional tion of ‘estrangement’ (ludic approach) or of ‘famil- urban rooms reveal valued engagement with these , USA, 2004), or transforma- fixed nature of these elements, the possibility to iarity’ (domestic approach), all focus particularly on tasks. Efforts to make the configuration and equip- tion (Lara Plácido and Sara Bento Botelho, Natureza move chairs and tables to reorganise space accord- people. Concerns for the life that unfolds between ment of public spaces proactive in shaping socio- em Risco, Ponte de Lima, Portugal 2009). ing to specific needs is proving particularly effective buildings is the general framework of a new para- cultural dynamics can be observed in attempts to Beyond the result and success of such experi- (Kristine Jensen, Prags Boulevards, Copenhagen, digm in the development of urban environments enhance their role as civic arenas, not only hosting ments, these attempts are beginning to raise rele- Denmark, 2005). In a few other cases, users are able that has emerged over the past few decades. but also triggering public debate. The growing use vant questions concerning contemporary socio- to change not only the position but also the form The interpretation of public space as social of squares, streets and parks as special exhibition cultural instances, and are consequently starting to and functioning of surfaces and objects. The design space or a place for social action has been widely spaces is but one example, a trend not only related reflect on and envision further developments in the of convertible or adaptable tools is designed to re- investigated and discussed (Hannah Arendt, Jane to increasing cooperation with , but also role of public spaces as essential cultural places for spond to different demands (Rogier Martens, Pop- Jacobs, William H. White, etc.). Nevertheless, con- to the outreaching experiences of certain contem- society in the twenty-first century. temporary cities, characterised by complex and ever-changing social and physical scenarios, elicit reflection on the strategies and tools implemented 27 Kevin A. Lynch, Op. cit. 1960, i Kevin A. Lynch, A 29 Stephen Carr, et al., Public Space, Cambridge University Theory of Good City Form, The MIT Press, Cambridge, to arrange the form, function and meaning of ur- Press, Cambridge, 1993. Massachusetts, 1981. ban rooms. If the success of public spaces can be Gehl, J. Op.cit. 28 Christian Norberg-Schulz, Op. cit. 30 Mary Louise Pratt, ‘ of the Contact Zone,’ Profession (1991), p. 34.

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