PLACEMAKING

design methods





PLACEMAKING DESIGN
The essence of place making is the creation of economically vibrant, aesthetically attractive, lively and engaging, pedestrian-friendly places. Increasingly, another factor is coming into play—sustainability—leading to an increased focus on infill, mixed-use, walkable, and transit-served development projects as critical components for building healthy and enduring communities. However, delivering these dividends continues to be full of challenges for both developers and public officials.
Place making offers developers, public officials, and consumers unbeatable opportunities to collaboratively create thriving, profitable, sustainable environments to live, work, and play. Great place making requires bold vision, entrepreneurial business models, and long-term commitment from private and public sector players. Optimizing these opportunities can challenge even the most inventive professionals.

“questions”
what is the place making edge today?
what does it take to make mixed-use benefits outweigh risks?
what strategies do successful place making developers use?
what lessons do past place making projects offer?
how can public transit investment create value for place making?
how can place making principles add value to single use properties?

why it becomes a placemaking?

placemaking in DARLING HARBOUR
created through . . .
cultural
natural
Human/local needs
environmental

cultural ; original inhabitants of the area around Sydney since pre 1788 steady use this place as sea produces transaction
natural and environmental ; reflected as a waterfront city
human/local needs ; need place to fulfill their (local) basic needs; food (fish), work (fisherman) and to spend their leisure time

learn how to act in certain kinds of circumstances, mallin, 1979.
a path . . .
by specific design responds, such as the prescription and manipulation of the compositional qualities of some building/landscape elements in response to a perceived problem and its surrounding or auxiliary conditions.

focus activity areas
The best public space often have nodes of activity (with pavement/street cafes or markets), complemented quiet zones for rest and people-watching.
Deciding the relative positioning of activity areas requires attention to :
visibility – enabling people to have views across spaces, while giving them a choices of areas to sit or linger in relation to activity “hot spot”
orientation – facing sunny and well sheltered spots with seating provide the most popular spaces for lingering
facilities for sitting and stopping at activity nodes and crossing
places for play

Uses in and around the spaces
encourage street performers
transform squares into evening film auditoria or theatres
accommodate markets, carnivals or parades

Build in versatility
designing versatile spaces that enable different people to enjoy different activity in the same spaces as far as possible

Routes through space : enable people to pass directly from A to B
(urban design compendium, llewelyn-davies)