A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Rethinking Public Space : A public space for a winter city
- How do we create a public space that can be used all year round? The square is an important part of the urban fabric, it is where communities are formed, and people meet, a non-commercial resource benefiting the inhabitants. They encourage chance encounters, diversity, a sense of communality, and democracy and are therefore key to a living city. These qualities are essential and must function year-round. An issue with the public spaces in Umeå is that they only function when the weather allows it. On rainy days and during the long winter season, people seem to retreat from the city’s squares into shelters, leaving them abandoned and acting only symbolic as public spaces. A common solution seems to be for people to reside in malls, cinemas, restaurants, or gyms. While this course might initially seem like a decent workaround, a majority of them come with restrictions requiring you to pay or limit the duration of your stay, turning public spaces into an exclusive commodity. I wanted to create a public square that functions all year round by encapsulating part of Renmarkstorget, an existing square in Umeå, thus adapting it to the Nordic climate. This enclosed and heated square contains seating areas, a bus terminal, public restrooms, and a light therapy room to meet passing people’s needs. The sheltered square is designed in an adaptable way to host events, food festivals, markets, and other cultural activities, which encourages longer stays in the square, promoting a shared sense of ownership of the square. The proposed enclosed square allows movement and has visual connections both through the building and vertically with large open courtyards between the levels encouraging people to take a break, explore the other floors, the building’s qualities, and the activities they offer. The square offers a space for life between buildings regardless of the weather.
Rethinking Public Space : A public space for a winter city
- How do we create a public space that can be used all year round? The square is an important part of the urban fabric, it is where communities are formed, and people meet, a non-commercial resource benefiting the inhabitants. They encourage chance encounters, diversity, a sense of communality, and democracy and are therefore key to a living city. These qualities are essential and must function year-round. An issue with the public spaces in Umeå is that they only function when the weather allows it. On rainy days and during the long winter season, people seem to retreat from the city’s squares into shelters, leaving them abandoned and acting only symbolic as public spaces. A common solution seems to be for people to reside in malls, cinemas, restaurants, or gyms. While this course might initially seem like a decent workaround, a majority of them come with restrictions requiring you to pay or limit the duration of your stay, turning public spaces into an exclusive commodity. I wanted to create a public square that functions all year round by encapsulating part of Renmarkstorget, an existing square in Umeå, thus adapting it to the Nordic climate. This enclosed and heated square contains seating areas, a bus terminal, public restrooms, and a light therapy room to meet passing people’s needs. The sheltered square is designed in an adaptable way to host events, food festivals, markets, and other cultural activities, which encourages longer stays in the square, promoting a shared sense of ownership of the square. The proposed enclosed square allows movement and has visual connections both through the building and vertically with large open courtyards between the levels encouraging people to take a break, explore the other floors, the building’s qualities, and the activities they offer. The square offers a space for life between buildings regardless of the weather.
Rethinking Public Space : A public space for a winter city
Gimfjord Nielsen, Johanna (author)
2020-01-01
Theses
Electronic Resource
English
| Taylor & Francis Verlag | 1995
| Taylor & Francis Verlag | 2023
| British Library Online Contents | 1995
| Taylor & Francis Verlag | 2024
| Online Contents | 2015