Pop Up Picnic

On Wednesday, I attended a picnic, complete with rugs laid out on grass, in the middle of the city, just one block down from my work in fact. The Albert Street picnic was organised by UR{BNE} as part of the Brisbane City Ideas fiesta - showcasing the new draft city plan and I can't think of a better way to get people involved and commenting on the future of their city.  

The Super Cool Picnic Sign blocking off Albert Street

Not only did this picnic provide a fun way to get involved in city planning, it was also a great way to demonstrate how little changes, such as pedestrianising a street in the inner city can make a huge difference in how we interact with our cities. The use of temporary projects also presents a low risk forum to trial new ideas - and if they work, great and if not you get the chance to try again! 

Proposed Ideas for Brisbane up for comment

A Packed out crowed enjoying the green space

More of these events will be popping up around Brisbane over the next month or so as part of the UR{BNE} festival and I can't wait to see what else they have come up with. It is an exciting time to be living in Brisbane that's for sure.  

Advertising the High Life

It is no secret that Pop Up City is one of my all time favourite urban design blogs and a consistent source of temporary urban design and architecture inspiration and this project really is inspiring. Architect Julio Gomez Trevilla has designed a temporary house in Mexico that is incorporated with and hidden behind a typical billboard in Mexico. This innovative project is a true combination of urban play, pop up building, activating new spaces and turning the traditional way you think about cities on it's head.  

An unassuming Billboard via Pop Up City

The house acts as a temporary residence for artists with the first artist Cecilia Beaven painting a mural based on suggestions on what you can do with a blank piece of paper. This project really brings a level of personalisation in the city that Kevin Lynch and Bentley et al would be more than proud of. The resulting house may not be hugely spacious, but it includes everything you need to meditate on your next creative project - even your own kitchen.  

The inside of a hidden house via Pop Up City

Now I am a huge believer in the power of art in revitalising our cities and in the ability of temporary urban design, so I can't wait to see even more projects like this popping up in the future. It is so exciting to see this global trend continue to push the boundaries and I can't wait to feature even more innovative projects.  

Urban Change Makers: Bee One Third

I thought it was about time I not only reinstated the urban change makers column but that I hopped aboard the praise train for the duo behind Brisbanes Bee One Third (recently featured in the U on Sunday magazine). Although neither Kat Skull or Jack Wilson Stone, the geniuses behind Bee One Third are from Brisbane originally they are both long term residents and luckily for us it has become their entrepreneurial home. Urban bee keeping is by no means a new addition to the rooftops of cities across the world and addresses a vital need to maintain our bee population and restore their rightful place in the city. But Bee One Third bring a new meaning the the term "local" with honey being produced on the rooftops of the very restaurants it is used and sold in (such as Gerards Bistro in New Farm). 

Rooftop Beekeeping taken by Andy Leitch via Facebook

Not only are Skull and Stone bringing bee keeping to our rooftops, they also have taught classes at Brisbane's The Joynery in order to help locals create bee friendly gardens in small spaces, in order to provide the best possible chance for the hives to thrive. The attention to detail shown in the Bee One Third project is admirable, with all hives hand crafted and the honey produced bottled by hand and containing hand stamped and embossed labels. These are some seriously talented and clever bee keepers we are dealing with.  If you are interested in finding out more I would head to Bee One Third's facebook here or try and get your hands on yesterdays U on Sunday article. 

Pop In to Church

Now as someone who is admittedly a little bit design obsessed, I am always first in line to pick up to new issue of Habitus magazine when it hits the news stands quarterly. In issue 19 there was one article that really caught my eye, and fits right in with the purpose of Urban Submarine. The project starts in an unused church, a neo-classical cultural heritage landmark in a residential suburb of Darlinghurst, Sydney. In order to revitalize this church and return activation to an otherwise unused building a unique and innovative solution was devised by Bates Smart Architects that I like to refer to as a Pop In. 

A Pop Up inside a Darlinghurst Church via Bates Smart

The element of cultural heritage often presents nothing but constraints and limitations for planners, builders and developers alike and that was certainly the case for this Darlinghurst Church Project. Development could in no way impact or extrude any of the walls of the Church and the outside was to remain completely intact. So what did Bates Smart do to solve this issue? The built inside it, creating a residential pop up home inside the church that can be completely dismantled and in no way impacts on the structure of the church itself. Pure Genius. The church not only now encompasses a lived in, and beautiful, residential home but with some gathered remaining pews also allows for public access in terms of a concert and performance space - effectively blurring the boundary between public and private. 

A large entertaining Kitchen within the Demountable Pod via Bates Smart

As the pictures show, the temporary nature of the housing shell in no way has constricted the residents, the pods even include a large and impressive entertaining kitchen. The whole project is proof that from constraints the most creative ideas can grow, as well as the ability of temporary structures to be more than just impermanent pop up shops or cafes. As a planner I think this project also illustrates that maybe the very idea of cultural heritage codes  and regulations as they exist today is outdated. Where is the benefit in allowing cultural heritage buildings to stand unoccupied and uncared for within the city? Maybe it is time to come up with a more flexible approach, that fosters innovation rather then placing barriers to it and stop being stuck in the old ways of planning. Possibly then we will witness a cultural regeneration, full of more wonderful and creative projects. 

Attendant: Cafe Restroom?

So obviously March was not a great month over here at Urban Submarine, and I apologise profusely for that. Between job applications, starting a new job, writing a thesis and having a social life my availability to blog has been pretty limited, BUT April is a new month and I really want to get back into finding the coolest and most innovative urban initiatives to feature them here on the blog and encourage even more initiatives in the future! Before I mention to cool little reuse of inactive space I have for you today, i thought I would mention some things I have in the works for this month in order to establish some accountability! This month will bring us UR{BNE} festival in Brisbane, so a lot of cool things will be happening in the city. I will definitely be heading a long to the Albert Street Picnic and ideas fiesta (seeing as I work on Albert Street) and taking some pictures to feature, I am also working on a job application based on Paddington so I am hoping to feature that either this month or next too! I am sure other more exciting stuff will pop up, but thats it for now - so onto the story!

The outside of Attendant via We Heart

The Attendant Cafe, is probably one of the coolest and most out there transformations of unused urban space I have seen yet - so obviously I love it! This cafe has made its home in a former unused Victorian era mens bathroom in West London, and somewhat to the tune of secret urbanism, involves heading downstairs via the wrought iron cage to gain access to this porcelain based cafe. 

The interior fit out of Attendant via We Heart

With the cafe clearly paying great respects to its original use, even utilising plugged up urinals as seats, it is a great mix celebrating both the old and the new in our cities. Not only that but the interior is so delightfully quirky I don't think you could help but having fun (and probably a bit of a giggle) while you were there. 

For more photos and an article with a lot more toilet jokes than I was willing to make head on over to weheart.co.uk.