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Rudi.net’s third annual Remaking Places Conference, called Places In Transition was held in the German Gymnasium on the edge of the King’s Cross redevelopment site in central London in January.
Moving images have escaped from the cinema and the living room to become a regular feature in the public realm. Peter Stonham and Tom Evans explore the issues of planning, management and programming behind the screening of films and projections in street life
William Shakespeare famously claimed that ‘All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players’. This remains true today: indeed, streets and places are positively animated by people and their daily interactions and transactions.But as well as acting as a stage, much of the built environment is also potentially a screen. New technologies in terms of projection, and creative thinking about the locations and context of where and how images are shown have opened up possibilities for bringing moving images into urban situations.
Although split on whether the stories in question actually undermine our understanding of climate science, media commentators all agreed that the recent spate of global warming ‘scandals’ has been a serious setback for advocates of ‘decarbonisation’ policies.
By Toyubur Rahman and Paul Davies
The evening and night-time economy is a vital ingredient in the appeal of town and city centres. Get it right and they will enjoy a welcome income from tourism, visitors and leisure. But get it wrong and perceptions can plummet overnight
Since the 2003 Licensing Act came into force in November 2005 a new nocturnal ‘army’ of police, licensing officers, night time managers, marshals, town centre managers and street pastors has emerged; on a mission to keep town centres clean, safe and convivial throughout the night.
Guerilla lighting teams are staging dramatic lighting events in order to draw attention to the possibilities, and importance, of lighting in the urban environment
Guerrilla lighting declares war on bad lighting. It protests against the wasteful use of light, and raises awareness of the power of light. It creates ephemeral and magical moments of quality lighting that are recorded and sent to the media and politicians to instigate action against bad lighting. ‘Lighting Guerillas’ suggest that poorly-designed lighting should be prevented, and that all cities should be encouraged to establish, and enforce, a minimum standard of quality.
By Maggie Bolt
In times of recession when life goes on hold, it’s actually a time to plan, step back and re-think how we embed cultural involvement in place and apply ‘total place’ thinking
itionally, when the going gets tough – creativity gets dumped! Whenever expenditure gets tight, quality of design and materials, along with landscaping and public art, have frequently been conveniently lost as costly extras. But it’s actually a time to plan, step back and re-think how we embed cultural involvement in place and apply ‘total place’ thinking within all forms of development.
By Mike Brown
Attracting people to use public and private spaces supports the commercial viability of town centres, parks, and historic gardens. Yet the logistics of place management can be complex
Outdoor public events can be a great boost to the economic vitality of most places. Weddings, music festivals, fetes, arts events, exhibitions and markets: all of these attract visitors and create a thriving local economy. Yet any event promoter or town centre manager appreciates the complexity of staging events in busy public places. From parking provision to traffic regulation, crowd control and policing to the provision of public toilets, entertainment facilities and catering, event logistics can be taxing.
By John Dales
John Dales is on the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment’s enabling panel and is also the independent design advisor on streets to the city of Edinburgh Council. He is director of transport and movement at urban design consultant Urban Initiatives.
John Dales laments the lack of grandeur in UK streets, but sees potential in central London’s Holborn Kingsway
This film is intended to be a highly useful tool for student and practicing architects/designers, planners, clients and others involved in the built environment.
The role and relationship of the architects, the client, the user advisors, access consultants, and other members of the design team are examined in the film (clips 1 to 7). The film provides viewers with differing practical examples of inclusive design.
Go to RIBA's video channel
At the December 2009 LTT-sponsored Shared Space conference in London, delegates heard that a great deal more research needs to be done before the shared space concept can be fully evaluated, with worries about the potential road safety impact of such schemes being of particular concern and the needs of blind and partially sighted pedestrians remaining a key issue.
