Waiting is a Verb
Specials
2014, Rotterdam
Research into Waiting as a Public Activity
In collaboration with Bas Sala (Studio Bas Sala) & Sander van der Ham (Stipo).
Supported by the Creative Industry Fund NL & the City of Rotterdam
2014, Rotterdam
Research into Waiting as a Public Activity
In collaboration with Bas Sala (Studio Bas Sala) & Sander van der Ham (Stipo).
Supported by the Creative Industry Fund NL & the City of Rotterdam
Travel is one of the main reasons for people to venture into public space; waiting for the bus, tram or metro is inseparable with travel. Waiting amenities such as bus shelters therefore belong to the basic equipment of the public domain. They function as focal points in public space: people spend valuable time there, waiting. These locations should somehow relate to the surrounding urban context as they offer the opportunity to improve the meaning and use of the public domain. But most shelters are designed in a generic and anonymous way.
The aim of the research was to study waiting as a public activity in order to generate design solutions that improve the physical and social quality of public transport waiting areas.
> Friction as a Design Strategy (etalage)
> Public Space Detective (etalage)
The aim of the research was to study waiting as a public activity in order to generate design solutions that improve the physical and social quality of public transport waiting areas.
> Friction as a Design Strategy (etalage)
> Public Space Detective (etalage)
SMALL URBAN BEHAVIOUR
Each space evokes a unique pattern of behaviour; what sort of behaviour depends on a lot of circumstances. American sociologist William H. Whyte showed with his study ‘The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces’ that, with the right interventions, the character of public spaces can be affected in a positive way, evoking more spontaneous use and behaviour. Whyte did his research in the 1970s. Since then a lot has changed: smoking has been banned from buildings onto the street, the introduction of the Smartphone, etc. These and other factors affect the behaviour of people in public space.
As waiting is a specific type of small urban behaviour, we decided to broaden the research, taking these new circumstances into account. Action research was performed on three locations in Rotterdam. The results were presented during the We Love Public Space Festival which took place May 19th 2017 in Rotterdam.
PUBLIC SPACE DETECTIVE
Floor van Ditzhuyzen and Ron Blom participated in the Play-Public Event organized by Argus, the Architecture Student Association of the TU Delft. The 'publicness' of the square in front of the Rotterdam Central Station was investigated by playing the 'Public Space Detective Game'. With this action research we elaborate further on our interest in 'small' behaviour in public space.
The Stationsplein is basically a transit-space, designed in such a way to create as little friction as possible; very smooth, no obstacles such as benches, lamp-posts, etc. This emptiness makes the Stationsplein more a stage than a square; a centerstage for the imposing architecture of the Station and the Groothandelsgebouw. But not every public space is also a public place. Which parts of this space are really public? Where is evidence of 'publicness' or public life?
By playing the 'Public Space Detective' Game the Stationsplein was investigated like a detective does, looking for traces of activity such as bits of chewing-gum, cigarette buts etc. The amount of litter per square meter is an indication for the intensity of public activity - smoking, waiting, sitting, eating, etc. - in a certain location, resulting in the litter-index. Pictures of the marked spots can be found on Instagram with the hashtag #publicspacedetective, thus producing a catalogue of these rudimentary traces of public life.
Public Space Detetective is part of our continuous interest in and ongoing investigation of small public behaviour in contemporary public space.
The results of the reseach were presented at the 'We Love Public Space' Festival 2018.