ABSTRACT

The term ‘public space’ conjures visualisations of human experiences, which connect all people and spaces; creating placemaking and community. Public space is and has been an integral part of our social and cultural histories. In ancient Greece, public space facilitated relationships, building wisdom and culture with and within space. Public space is for the common good; shared environments which are welcoming and inclusive regardless of age, wealth, gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. Spaces which draw on our common fundamental needs as living beings. Spaces of engagement, connection and nourishment.

Our urban spaces are envisaged as hubs of ‘prospect and refuge.’ Spaces in which to flourish. During COVID-19, public spaces were an escape from the confined and eventually mundane, sometimes lonely spaces of our homes. These shared spaces facilitated health and well being through human engagement, passive and activated. As social restrictions continue to ease, there is a need to respect the value of such spaces, many of which still lack urban quality, character and facilities to host the changing demands of social interaction, in the face of pandemics and eventual endemics. Whilst many spaces and places lack diversity, engagement and relationship, COVID-19 has provided a clear vision for the value of public space and future needs of all people.

During COVID-19, The University of Sydney rapidly transformed. Once bustling with thousands of students and staff, it morphed from an activated, engaged community precinct to a desolate, abandoned and isolated place. It seems that social opportunities beyond its academic purpose, its academic audience, are absent. Engagement beyond the academic community, a missed opportunity for relational community and environmental engagement, broader education and nourishment.

This project presents an opportunity to reinvent, reinvigorate and reignite public space within the University of Sydney, for the communal common good, of all people within and beyond the university gates.

WEAVE + THREAD THE CORRIDOR + THE BEACON

Weave + Thread activates relationships of and between people, space and place for our sustainable well being. Comprised of two elements, The Corridor and The Beacon, Weave + Thread brings the public space of Eastern Avenue to life beyond its anticipated use. The project integrates existing space with new design to facilitate diverse public space. The process of design is repeated and collaborative in order to reach the project design and elemental components of placemaking, wayfinding, shelter and diverse and sustainable use. Relational art and architecture are fused to achieve the project vision of an inclusive space to engage, connect and nourish.