On a beautiful San Francisco day, we walked along Market Street and sampled the inspiring ideas of over 50 artists/designers/citizens. From April 9-11, the Market Street Prototyping Festival brought multiple modes of creative thinking to the upcoming redesign of San Francisco’s Market Street, centered around placemaking (scroll down for more about this).
My very favorite prototype was called “Understory”, which I discovered is part of an ongoing effort to promote the “Tigers” on Market Street”. https://neighborland.com/ideas/sf-tigers-on-market-street
It’s a surprise to learn that the trees on Market Street provide a habitat for these beautiful creatures. The understory concept creates a way for the caterpillars (who are normally trampled underfoot along the sidewalk) to complete their lifecycle. It lets them get back up into the trees where they can become glorious butterflies.
There’s an excellent article about “Tigers on Market Street” in the Smithsonian magazine:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-butterfly-species-settles-in-san-franciscos-market-street-2071710/
Here are some of the other ideas showcased:
“Exchange Portals”, which brought different SF neighborhoods onto Market Street:
“Zen Door”, designed to create a space for peace:
“Relax”, a greener, softer seating space:
Lots of the prototypes included interactive elements that invited passersby to become part of an experience, like the “Tree of Changes”:
There were lots of ideas for creating places for people to sit and chat, lounge and read, even to play ping pong. It was so refreshing to get to sample all the new ideas and to think about our city in new ways. These pix are just a brief glimpse into all the projects. It’s fascinating to read about the ideas for interactivity, and many of the projects are designed to be viewed at night. To get the big picture, you can find the specifics about all the project ideas at the festival site: http://marketstreetprototyping.org/
“Placemaking is a planning and design strategy that draws inspiration from the local community to create public spaces that promote health, happiness, public engagement and well-being. A new multi-use zone concept within the existing sidewalk known as the Streetlife Zone is intended to invite diverse public life, create continuity along Market Street and promote opportunities to integrate walking, biking and public transit. Wired magazine calls it “Hacking the Streetscape”, an apt description.
More about placemaking: http://www.pps.org/reference/what_is_placemaking/
And here’s the Wired article about the first SF Urban Prototyping Festival: http://www.wired.com/2012/10/up-festival/
craftdesignworks 