Architecture Design Competition ‘Park Fit’ Launched by UNI — A furniture set to suit the aesthetic of a park
Green pockets of pleasure
A common misconception about urban parks is that they are original plots of land, bits of nature that are preserved due to indecision. Parks are, in their right, artifacts, that are conceived and deliberated as any other public structure, with its design area and usage given due consideration.
Parks are the soul of a city. They are part of the public realm, providing access to nature as well as a space for outdoor activities and community engagement. Their crucial role in the urban landscape, demands the conscious design and management of these spaces.
Park furniture is an important feature that contributes to the environment of any park. Parks accommodate and celebrates the diversity of users and their uses, and hence, the furniture must represent this in its design.
Can park furniture transmute into creations that become the identity of the park?
The infrastructure of leisure
Functionality in its most basic sense is the only tool used to achieve the furniture’s design. The accepted template of these utilities has been a hurdle in pushing for more creative outcomes to the furniture design scenario.
Park furniture is an integral part of the green landscape but often remains neglected and underestimated concerning its design capacity. Furniture can be a tool to stage a public place as a desirable site, calling visitors to a serene and comfortable environment. But our pursuit of convenience and functionality has pushed creative design to take a back seat.
Eccentric design aesthetics can be made to stand out and attract the public and at the same time perform its function adequately. Coming up with unique solutions to mundane concerns of seating or lighting can help inspire a new look for the public places and green centers of the city.
Brief of the Competition
Parks may be popular public spots but their spatial design may remain unexplored in following regular and conventional design norms.
Brief: The challenge of the competition is to redesign park furniture to create a new identity for the public place.
The design aims to improve the park infrastructure through smart interventions. It attracts huge populations and services must accommodate all types of users. Privacy and interaction spots can be spread over the layout to suit needs. The careful articulation of space through the customized design of the furniture can be refreshing and intriguing. The park must remain animated (active) during day and night time too.
Safety, security, and comfort must be achieved in all elements and forms. Park furniture can be inspired by its contextual history and represent the city culture and its people through meaningful design inputs. The existing infrastructure and natural setting are to be taken into consideration while proposing the new elements/additions.
Design Objectives
The objective is to create a tangible link between urban and elemental. The furniture pieces created, can be chosen from a broad category of street furniture categories described in the following sections. These can be chosen by the preferences of the designer or its affinity/use/compatibility to the park and the city.
Participants have to design any 4 different furniture pieces in the following typology. They can be combinable, but they should be useful/meaningful in isolation as well. The size of any furniture piece must not exceed 20 sq.m (in the area).
One working piece of furniture that fits more than a single typology will be placed in the H. Hybrid category.
Typology A is mandatory, and the other 3 can be chosen separately.
A. Life: Table, Benches, Seating, etc.
B. Lights: Park lights, etc
C. Utility: Water supply and treatment systems, Solar power, etc.
D. Waste Management: Dustbins, Litter bins, Trash cans, etc.
E. Landscape: Fountain, Planters, Flower beds, etc.
F. Transportation: Pedestrian path, Cycle tracks, Bicycle sheds, etc.
G. Play: Slides, Playing setups, Swings, Fitness, etc.
H. Others/ Hybrid/ Park specific: A combination of the above furniture specific to the park.
You can pick any one or multiple of these furniture typologies and develop a design based on the brief. The key qualities expected in the furniture pieces are Innovation, accessibility, robustness, fun, durability, and efficiency.
There is no additional merit associated with the kind of choice of the categories. You can use hybrid categories that may solve crucial spots of the park and at the same time define its image at large.
Site
Sydney is a top-tier capital city with a multicultural society and advanced economy. The marvels are not limited to the built environment but it also has their fair share of greenery in the form of parks and outdoor arenas covering large expanses of land around the city.
The site is in Sydney, Australia. Victoria Park is one of the most prominent urban parks in the city of Sydney, Australia. It is adjacent to the University of Sydney and is surrounded by shady spots, a playground, a swimming pool, and a cafe. Despite being a popular setting for major events in the city, its furniture is scattered inadequately along the park.
Victoria Park is extensively documented by the City of Sydney Council website. The part of the park that is the design site is located at its southern end, adjacent to The University of Sydney Law School. The site is given to establish context for the park furniture design.
- Site area = 7,665 square metres.
- Height Restriction =10 Metres
- Coordinates = 33°53'15.8"S 151°11'29.3"E
Originally published at https://uni.xyz.
