Different camera and other pics from Copenhagen. This was part of the New Nordic architecture exhibition. I wish I had taken the name down for this stunning timber bus stop.
City Love
Yen Trinh: Urban Space. Community. Design
Category Archives: urban space
‘Somewhere to Sit’ Presentation
A presentation for the Sit-Art Design Workshop at the Edge, State Library.
“Somewhere to Sit”. Full presentation here >>http://issuu.com/yengen/docs/seating-apdl_presentation
Seating is such a powerful signal for public behaviour and spaces. …and I think prehaps in another life I would have liked to be a furniture designer as well.
The workshop involved 40 Kelvin Grove State College students in partnership with Myer Centre, Arkhefield Architects, QUT School of Design, State Library of Qld and Design Institute of Australia Qld Branch.
This one day workshop developed designs for the chairs which will become part of the new interior design for the Myer Centre Food Court Refurbishment and a video documenting the design process will be launched at the QLD Design Awards Night (28th June) .
Smell-designed Cities
Via Edible Geography: Smell-designed Sheffield
“For the most part, the built environment consists of accidental and overlooked odours — an unintentional backdrop of neighbourhood zoning laws, off-gassing cabinetry, scented cleaning products, and HVAC. Architecture, urban planning, and interior design operate primarily as visual practices, with little thought given to the auditory qualities of a space, and even less to olfactory experience. Nonetheless, smell can shape spatial perception at least as powerfully as light or sound, producing atmosphere, narrative, and even form”
Bangalow Buildings
Tiny town. Cute buildings
It seems to perfectly personify the ”main street” vibe that masterplans of suburban centres and urban villages often aspire to.
Food, Liquor and Urban Planning
A great article via GOOD Magazine (“There flows the neighborhood”) about bars and restaurants being an indicator and catalyst for urban change.
“In a way, liquor is the lifeblood of the modern urban neighborhood. Where it flows, growth often seems to follow. Upscale bars can be a sign of change—as they are in a neighborhood like mine—or they can drive change, as they do in places just starting to transform. In some cities, such as Detroit, people are even hopeful that well-placed watering holes can be a tool to reverse-engineer neighborhood revitalization—if you build it, the young will come. And as more 20-somethings embrace city living across the country, bars and restaurants have become, perhaps, what the church or country club are to the suburban lifestyle: tangible evidence of a vibrant community.”
The article describes an overseas context but you can also see it happening in Brisbane. I see ”trendy food precincts” are generally happening in 2 places:
1) Older neighbourboods and traditional main streets – such as West End, Paddington, Park Rd, Bulimba
2) More interestingly they are in areas of very purposeful urban renewal - such as the Valley (James St, Emporium), Tenerife, Barracks, Portside Hamilton, and Southbank. The emerging trendiness of bars and restaurants clustered in the ‘Gabba is also a hint to the urban renewal opportunities already flagged for that Eastern Corridor.
The relationship between a great bar/restaurant and its surrounding street/ neighbourhood should be a mutual give-and-take and of benefit to both. When choosing a new location, owners are probably making fundamental judgements of the desirability of a neighbourhood, including the connectivity to transport options, the quality of pedestrian environments, the visibility of landmarks and views, notable architectural character and general safety of a street. They might be seeing it with business filters on, but whether they realise it or not, they are evaluating urban design.
The Brisbane Good Food Guide might primarily be for foodies, but I’d be curious to consider if it also turns out to be a reflection of Brisbane’s urban change, its best urban design spaces, and its vibrant neighbourhoods.
