Longest Bench in the World

Designed by Kongjian Yu, The Red Ribbon steel bench runs for a 1/2 kilometer alongside the Tanghe River in Qinhuangdao, China. A wonderful juxtaposition between the machined and nature, it looks to be a magnetic, multi-functional piece of art that invites people to sit, play and observe from it as it meanders through the riverside park.  This minimalist approach arguably results in a significant reduction of impacts typically caused by accommodating traditional park features while providing a unique and meaningful experience.

images via thedesignblog.org

Edges: Fronting Public Spaces

The public realm is defined by its edges and, in most urban ares, buildings are those edges.  Therefore, in order to have great public spaces buildings must provide great edges.  Here is the first installment of my photo documentation of well designed, context appropriate edges ...

Retail fronting the City square

Baden-Baden, DE

Retail fronting pedestrian way/ woonerf

Baden-Baden, DE

Retail fronting pedestrian way/ woonerf

Frankfurt, DE

Church and residential buildings define a small plaza in Barcelona, ES

Bike path through residential neighborhood

Amsterdam, NL

South Lake Union Amazon.com Headquarters 

Seattle, WA

Alley 24

Seattle, WA

 Alley 24

Seattle, WA

 Alley 24

Seattle, WA

 Alley 24

Seattle, WA

 Alley 24

Seattle, WA

Riverwalk at Redmond,WA

Condos fronting Luke McRedmond Park

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Baden-Baden

Aerial via Google Maps

I traveled to Baden-Baden Germany in 2009 and fell in love with their central square.  It is a place for everyone and everything.  Pedestrians rule, but all are welcome.  A charming web of streets and alleys converge on the square creating a hub of social activity.  There are no curbs, no stop signs, no traffic lights or anything other than their little blue signs indicating that this is a people place and motorists are secondary to pedestrians.  I sat and watched for hours as peds, bikes, buses, and the occasional car passed through in perfect syncopation.  The compression and expansion created by the buildings at square's edges along with paving, planters, sculptures, flag poles, bollards and other features all work together to slow activity down and make this a successful and enjoyable people place without relegating motorized transportation.  It is a lesson that if maybe we stop trying to be so heavy handed by over-engineering for total control over our public spaces, then perhaps people would be given the privilege of thinking for themselves and collectively work together to create more interesting, high-functioning, multi-purpose centers of activity.  This space for me was proof that, indeed, we all can just get along!  

Below are photos of the space and the mix of streets, alleys, woonerfs, etc. that take you to and from Baden-Baden's hub...