Float On Markets

This morning I left on a 3 week adventure to Vietnam where I am undertaking a course studying urban design, planning and the environment within the Mekong Delta before doing a leisurely tour up north through Vietnam to Hanoi. Unfortunately this will be my last post for the month as I have not had the chance to line any up for my absence (because I am always too excited about my content and publish them). Of course I am very excited about many of the things I will be seeing (and will be sure to bore you with a few picture based posts when I return). One of my top things to do while in Vietnam is visit the floating markets, especially due to their recent inspiration for the IKEA floating markets in London. 

The IKEA markets floating on the Thames via NOTCOT

Although the floating and night time markets are a key source of income and livelihoods for the Vietnamese people the IKEA markets along the Thames show that urban design and innovative ideas can be taken from a range of places and re-used if applied correctly to the new site. This is a key element of place making and urban design, because if there is one thing I have learnt it is that there is no "one size fits all" approach to place making. What has made these markets look so fabulous is that the inspiration has clearly come from the Asian style market scene but then they have clearly applied the idea to a Western culture as well, particularly the needs and ideas of those in London (and Sweden I guess).  

The Pink IKEA market boat via NOTCOT

There are a whole heap more fabulous photos on NOTCOT. which you can see by clicking here. I would happily visit these floating down the Brisbane river any day! 

Pop Up Cinema

Over the last couple of weeks I have been attending Brisbane City Council's China Town Mall 80's and 90's movie nights. Although these free summer events have let me have a cheap and enjoyable night out (and I have got to see "The Labyrinth" and "The Mighty Ducks") there are a few things I couldn't help notice that made me think about how these "pop up" summer events are conducted. 

Iphone Photo of the Chinatown Pop Up CInema

One of the first things that I noticed was that although these events were all generally well attended, especially when taking in those in restaurants that could also enjoy the screening with their meal, the events were by no means full. I also noticed that there seemed to be few people that spontaneously decided to join in and watch the movie, although many paused or slowed as they walked past. I also noticed that there seemed to be a fairly distinct crowd of families with young children or young couples in their late teens to early 20's. 

I started to think "what could easily be changed to attract more spontaneous and diverse users?" and although I in no way came up with a definitive answer, it appeared that these events  needed a better gimmick. For example Gap Filler who I mentioned here, provided a cinema that relied purely on "cycle power" to run allowing for people to get involved with the event on multiple levels. But that is not the only way you could mix it up, why not have inflatable kids pools instead of seats? Or seeing as we are in china town, utilise chinese/japanese style floor cushions. 

Christchurch cycle powered cinema via news.com.au

Personally, as this is one of the few times I have attended a free public event, I thought it was great and am keen to visit many more. I only want to make them cooler and cooler into the future! 

City. Living. Buys - Reusable Drink Bottles

So Concord in Massachusetts has become the first city to officially ban disposable plastic water bottles in order to help our environment and encourage reduced waste and more sustainable living. This is a huge step in the right direction to reduce the total amount of packaging we are currently using (speakers come in a box, with two separate boxes inside with more packaging inside that). Though if you are like me the idea of choosing permanent water bottle and forking out between $12 - 35 for it, is somewhat intimidating (or at least it is for poor students that want their water bottle to match their outfits like I do). So I made a little collage of some cool water bottles to help you find the perfect one! 

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Now although none of these water bottles are particularly new to the market, they each have their own unique feature which makes them well worth your consideration. My personal favourite is the Eau Good water bottle (number 1), which has a replaceable charcoal filter and sleek but quirky design features. The only draw back of this bottle is that it recommends a long period of time e.g. overnight to thoroughly filter tap water. The bottle is designed by black+blum and their other stuff (hello pot plant bbq) is definitely worth checking out! The bobble bottles (4) work based on a similar charcoal filter as well and the vapur sports bottle (5) is flexible and thus can fold up when not in use. 

So what do you think? Are you going to make the switch to reusable bottles? 

World on a String

In response to the Guggenheim Labs "Transform a Public Space Project" Irene Guzman submitted a super cool project entitled Public2. The idea was that not only could a public square be created out of the impromptu meeting of features such as food trucks (which I just wrote about here) but it should encourage interaction with the public using it and between the public themselves. In order to create an interactive space strings were hung above the area which the public could move and manipulate to create shade and light as  needed throughout the day for their enjoyment of the space. 

Public2 Project Conceptualisation via Good.is

Moveable lamps were also included within the public square, so not only could enjoyment be modified as needed during the day but light could also be directed at night to where it is most needed at night. I think this idea is great in that it presents a simple and well thought out way to achieve public interaction with the urban realm. I personally would want the space to have a bit more colour - perhaps neon strings? Though I think this is a great project to be applied with a temporary time frame, in order to utilise vacant space as a makeshift public square. 

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Snail Pace

I am in love with this cool urban art project in Milan originally featured over on Honestly...WTF. Basically Cracking Art Group joined forces with Duomo and Opera d’Arte in order to make a statement about the desperate need for repairs on a historical run down cathedral. In order to make a comment about how the architecture is being slowly left to deteriorate, 50 bright blue snail sculptures were created (from recycled plastic!) and placed around the cathedral to capture the publics attention. 

Plastic Snails comment on deteriorating cathedral via Honestly...WTF

  

As soon as I saw this art installation I was struck by how effective and simple it really is, the bright colours instantly draw attention to the installation and the idea of snails ensures there is a cohesive concept that really marks it's purpose. I know if I stumbled upon something like this it would be difficult not to contemplate the cathedral and become increasingly more drawn to and interested in the cause itself. Plus, it adds a little bit of fun to the city, don't you think?

Mobile Cities

Now I want to admit to you guys something, hideously, hideously embarrassing - I have never had a meal provided by a food truck. This is particularly bad as I have noticed they seem to have been the biggest urban trend of the last 6 months or so and only seem to be growing in popularity. That being said, Australia and Brisbane in particular only just seem to be really picking up the whole mobile food service trend, with Brisbane's only current contender being "The Bun Mobile" pictured below. 

The Bun Mobile @ Newstead via Facebook

Now I can't help thinking that the food truck may turn out to be one of the biggest trends of 2013, allowing us to have adaptable and ever changing cities. BUT is the humble truck restricted to just serving us delicious, specialised foods? Why can't we have makers and craftsmen using the truck as a mobile store? We could have "The Shoe Horn" a bespoke cobbler featuring the old school ice cream truck horn.  Or "The Rolling Press" where people could simply walk in and have an appointment for their printing and letterpress needs. Not only could this trend provide us with exciting, moving cities but it could also allow for small businesses an affordable way to get on their feet before moving to more permanent (and expensive) premises. 

This is one trend I would really like to see be taken to new levels this year, what do you think? 

Urban Change Maker - Ryan Reynolds

One of the original reasons I decided that my future was in urban design and not city planning was based on Ryan Reynolds and his "Gap Filler" project for Christchurch post earthquake damages. In response to the devastation and large number of vacant spaces left in Inner City Christchurch post earthquake, Gap Filler make it their mission to temporarily activate these spaces with creative and innovative community uses. Ryan Reynolds, whose inspirational TEDxChCh talk can be viewed here (Coralie Winn also deserves a mention for her talk here).  

Dance-O-Mat in use via Gap Filler

Projects such as "Dance-O-Mat", a coin operated washing machine jukebox, embody the principles of Gap filler; community engagement, experimentation, leadership, creativity, resourcefulness and collaboration. This project was such a huge success that it was recently reinstated due to community demand - a true sign of a great community project. Other projects have also been a huge success and inspiration, including the recent "Summer Pallet Pavilion", a project that provides a small to medium sized community venue built by the community itself. 

Pallet Pavilion Concept Design via Gap Filler

 Keeping a city alive and vibrant in the face of huge devastation is a sizeable task to undertake and one that only a true urban change maker would be behind. I say everyone should key an eye out for what Gap Filler help to implement next, I know I am intrigued. 

My Vision

"Your vison of where or who you want to be is the greatest asset you have. Without having a goal it's difficult to score." 

One of the first sentences of Paul Arden's book "It's not how good you are, It's how good you want to be" was one of profound impact. As I sat trying to design my business cards to be produced for upcoming graduate interviews, I was stuck with the problem of how I would refer to myself. At the end of this year I can no longer hide behing the term "student" but as I will be graduating with a Town Planning degree do I simply call myself a town planner? What about my interests in urban and graphic design? sustainable and temporary architecture? I started to think "How good do I really want to be?" and the answer was I want someone to feature me in their "Urban Hero" article just like mine on Candy Chang and a number of others to come. The solution came to me unexpectedly when I realised "Urban Hero" was not the right term - I want to be someone who brings about change and challenges the way cities function. What I want to be is part of a network of; 

Urban Hero - Candy Chang

I have decided, due to how much I love doing city. design. buys to start another weekly column, dedicated to modern urban heros that are doing their bit to make our cities more sustainable, functional and fun. As much as I love Jane Jacobs and Kevin Lynch I feel like everyone doing something to shape our urban realm deserves a little credit and a little praise. So today I want to lavish praise on Candy Chang who I have been a die hard fan for since I first saw her TED Talk. 

It's Good to be Here project via Candy Chang

Candy Chang is an artist (one may even say an urban artist) in New Orleans, who based on her biography, aims to make people more contemplative when within cities. Despite me saying that urban heros didn't need to be urban designers or architects, Candy is both - with a degree in graphic design to boot. She has undertaken a huge variety of public art and design projects to make people really think and interact with the urban environment. Most renowned is her "Before I die _____" wall where people were provided with chalk to fill in the blank (live abroad, change the world, hug a sloth). Her "It's good to be here" project featured above was designed to make people stop and appreciate the city. But the project I find the most exciting started with the "I wish this was" project. 

"I wish this was" bollard via Candy Chang

Free stickers starting with "I wish this was" were provided with the direction to place them on vacant shop fronts throughout the city with what you wish they were being used as. Not only does this provide a great form of guerrilla public consultation and free expresion, it also allows for greater personalisation (there you go Kevin Lynch) of the public realm. Candy Chang also gives full permission for public use of her photos and recreations of her projects in other cities as long as the original inspiration is credited, what a way to give back and change our cities! 

"I wish this was" store front via Candy Chang

Transport Accelerator

So, I recently discovered the blog Pop Up City and have fallen head over heels in love (despite being slightly jealous of how amazing it is). One of their features (of many) that really caught my eye is for the "Transport Accelerator" which is a super cool slide that has been installed next to the stairs at a Dutch railway station in Utrecht for commuters trying to catch their train in a hurry. 

Dutch "Transport Accelerator" via Pop Up City

The project was not only used to bring some more fun to the city and encourage urban play but also used as a catalyst project to help revitalise a disadvantaged area. Having an awesome slide also shows that just because something is fun does not mean that it isn't also functional. And I mean, who doesn't want a little more fun on their daily commute?

City. Living. Buys - Urban Exploration Tool Kit

Morning Everyone! Welcome to the first City. Living. Buys of 2013 (and the second ever, ahem). Today I wanted to make a City. Living. Buys focused more around an idea than just a single product that I want - I can only show you so many different types of maps! So todays idea is that of Urban Exploration, which is basically taking a camera and exploring the abandoned and hidden urban structures within your city - as safely as possible of course. Urban exploration has been a popular hobby for a while, but recently I noticed a rise in the number of my friends liking the "Abandoned Brisbane" urban exploration page on Facebook (click here) and it increasingly started coming up in conversation. 

So I thought before I give urban exploration a go (I am still hesitant due to its dangerous and sometimes illegal nature) I needed to make a list of my tool kit to take with me, so here it is - my first ever collage too!

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Now the slingshot is a bit of a joke because it is a super big no no to damage/take anything from where you are exploring BUT hellaslingshots are just super cool and I think everyone should indulge their inner Huckleberry Finn occasionally. But an excellent camera to document your adventure, a backpack to carry your stuff, good shoes and a bike to travel on are all necessities if you are in for some urban exploration. Personally I am still questioning whether it is a good idea, I would love to see more of the city but I am put off by the dangers and might stick to geocaching for now. What do you think, anyone have any opinions on the hobby?