[SHAPE YOUR FUTURE]
For me, public space is political. I work with communities around the world, and as we know, every community has problems. Some of these problems are solved through the ballot box or city hall meetings or community efforts, like bike lanes and potholes and school budgets. But some problems are beyond the reach of these structures, like food deserts, community well-being and the loss of cultural identity. These problems cannot be solved with the existing tool sets. I believe that public space is the most potent place to discuss these issues, because it contains the richest diversity of perspectives. And that's what makes it so powerful. The existing parks, town squares and sidewalks are not enough, though, which is why I'm interested in creating a new type of public space, one that's built by the community and designed specifically for their needs.
I start by listening and by setting up actual outdoor living rooms, complete with couches, tables, chairs, rugs and lamps, as a way of holding meetings to learn about the issues directly from the community. I use this technique to capture the voices and ideas of people that might not have time or feel comfortable in more formal meetings. So why get someone to sit in a love seat in the middle of the street?
In York, Alabama, the residents bear witness to the abandoned houses that cover the town, which are a constant reminder of the white flight that took place after segregation ended, when white homeowners left the area and let their houses fall into disrepair. Teaming up with the people of York, we transformed an iconic, pink-sided, blighted property in the middle of town into a new house, called "Open House." However, this house has a secret. It physically transforms into a 100-seat open-air theater for plays, movies, music or whatever the community would like to experience. And when it folds back up into the shape of a house, the image of the reclaimed pink siding reminds people of the past. After its opening, the mayor saw the potential in Open House and held the next town hall meeting there. The excitement of this unique gathering space brought new energy and gave a fresh viewpoint to collectively discuss the future of the town.
In Cambridge, Massachusetts, to highlight the issues of energy, waste and climate change, we replaced a garbage can in a park with an anaerobic digester to transform dog waste into usable methane gas. Burning this methane lights the park and reduces greenhouse gases. By slightly changing an everyday experience in public space, the Park Spark Project provokes neighbors to have conversations about the natural and built systems around them and their connection to the environment.
In Lyons, Nebraska, residents spoke about the loss of social life as downtown storefronts began to shutter their doors, a result of the slow violence of disinvestment, which has left many rural downtowns empty. To address this loss of human connection, we used an abandoned storefront to turn Main Street into a movie theater. The storefront wall is modified with hydraulics so that the awning and false front fold down over the sidewalk with the push of a button, providing seating for 100. As the community came together to build a storefront theater, an eccentric postman who makes sci-fi movies starring his cat proposed to make a documentary for the debut. And so that summer, we turned downtown into a movie set and the townspeople into actors to create the movie "Decades," a history of Lyons downtown from its founding to the present moment. On opening night, the main street, which is usually empty after dark, filled with people to watch the story of their town, leaving locals to question: How will we write the next chapter of Lyons? Well, the next chapter started with a series of movie screenings, public events and international musicians, as well as a low-budget film community that has blossomed in Lyons, bringing in people from all over the world and a permanent art gallery that has opened next door.
My work harnesses the power of the built environment to focus on issues that communities and local governments have failed to address themselves, by creating projects so custom fit that the community naturally makes it their own. When people from all walks of life have a shared experience in these spaces, it can lead to a paradigm shift in how we see our home, our community and the world. For me, public space is political and becomes powerful when it sparks people's imagination to envision a new future. And although every place I've worked is unique, it all boils down to one thing: if people can sit together, they can dream together.
Thank you.
