Innovative Boardwalk in Inner London

Here at TC we love unique, fun and innovative ways of reinventing everyday spaces. Bankside, London has achieved this through successfully improving its pedestrian experience by constructing a playful extension to the area’s footpath. The modular walkway creates a colourful addition to the current monochromatic urban space, brightening up the experience for the area’s pedestrians.

Pathway Activation has been a popular action to repurpose and reinvent spaces all over the world in recent years. Just like Steer Davies Gleave in London, students attending George Westinghouse High School in Brooklyn, New York were passionate about brightening up their concrete jungle. With the help of their local school community, students were able to transform the space from bland to bling through the addition of temporary colourful bench seats, milk carton garden beds and greenwall made from recycled materials.

Space activation in Brooklyn, New York by George Westinghouse High School.

See more here.

Images courtesy of Steer Davies Gleave and George Westinghouse High School.

European cities are lighting up!

3D Projection Mapping, or Urban Projection Mapping, seems to be becoming more popular every year. It’s basically a motion graphics technique that involves taking footage of a building’s facade, editing the clip in post-production with special effects and projecting the edited footage directly onto its original source.

Only really beginning in the early 2000s for the use in music concerts (Gorillaz and Madonna at the 2007 European MTV Awards), the technique has become popular for advertisements and art shows across the world. Advertisers have become well aware of the urban projection mapping trend, having hired video artists to present their wares to the world (see Amsterdam H&M store opening right).

It’s also taken off as a place marketing tool for cities to show off their greatest buildings and landmarks, as well as a campaign mechanism to convey particular messages. The Festival of Lights in Ghent, Belgium, uses the display to achieve both of these things... Low level LED lights to illustrate how energy savings can be made, and the 5 kilometre walking light tour of the city also acts to show off some of its most beautiful buildings and monuments. By far the biggest attraction of the event, The LED Cathedral mixes Romanesque and Renaissance architecture with glowing rainbow ornamentation. It stands 91 feet tall at its peak and is made of 55,000 LED lights. With funding coming from both city councils and private enterprise, this trend seems to be taking off across the continent.

With so many cool possibilities for more interactive/fun/interesting cities, the rise of 3D Projection Mapping also raises some interesting questions about advertising in public spaces and the role of governments in managing what is essentially just, well, light. Just because it can't be 'touched', does that make it a non-invasive means of advertising? While I love the idea of a little more colour ad interactivity in the city, I'm not too keen on being bombarded with advertisements everywhere I go! None-the-less it'll be fascinating to see how light festivals and urban projection mapping techniques are utilised in the future. In the mean time, light shows are a great way to enjoy a beer and explore a city, so be sure to check one out!

Hamburg, Germany. Photo courtesy urbanscreen.com

Ghent, Belgium. Photo courtesy Adrian Pennington

Multi-purpose design: Oslo Opera House

She Lies - Monica Bonvicini — *She Lies* - Monica Bonvicini

Winning several contemporary architecture awards, the Oslo Opera House is a fantastic piece of modern urban design. It combines style and functionality to perfection and is one of the most interesting and enjoyable buildings I've visited anywhere in the world.

Not only the home of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, the building itself is a city attraction in it's own right. Aesthetically it mimics the icy Norwegian landscape wonderfully, but what I found most appealing was the interactivity it offers. The design is such that the public can freely walk all over it's surface, all the way up to the top of the roof, giving marvellous panoramic views of Oslo. There is actually a real sense of 'fun' when you climb all over a building such as this, and the views are stunning. It's also a very relaxing and peaceful place by the water away from much of the city noise. The roof has also been designed with angles and paving materials conducive to skateboarding. That's right, skateboarding is encouraged on top of the Opera House! The interior comprises exquisite shapes and acoustics, and exhibits a number of contemporary artworks. The most famous piece of artwork at the site, She Lies, is a glass sculpture which floats permanently in the adjacent fjord.

Combining style, functionality, interactivity, atmosphere, and panoramic views like no other, Tarald Lundevall's Oslo Opera House is a fine example of modern urban architecture. Perhaps this kind of multi-purpose design is something we will see more of in cities of the future.

Images courtesy of Billy Haworth.