A Laboratory of Fun

Initiated with Joan Littlewood, a theater director from East London, Fun Palace is a very influential project by Cedric Prize. He believed that through the correct use of new technology the public could have unprecedented control over its environment. It's a responsive structure to visitors needs. The move-able platforms, stairs and walls provide a flexible program, that prevents the visitors to get bored in that huge shipyard.

''Choose what you want to do – or watch someone else doing it.(...)Try starting a riot or beginning a painting – or just lie back and stare at the sky.”

The thesis will focus on the Bryant Park, a highly privatized public space in Manhattan, but the end-design will be applicable to the POPS as well. The proposition is to design a parametric topography with a responsive, interactive input. This new topography will allow the public and private interest to use the space at the same time, in different layers.

Here are some diagrams.

Another Fashion Week Conflict: Who gets the Money?

Looks like, the idea to move the Fashion tent from the Bryant Park to the Damrosch Park caused some serious money loss for the city. Lincoln Center, that has a long-term contract to rent the Damrosch Park, is getting all the money from the events sponsors, which is $17.2 million dollars.

Bryant Park, which was the the iconic previous host of the event, got only $2.6 million dollars last year. The non-profit Bryant Park Foundation was using the money to manage and renovate the park. However, the world-famous event outgrew the space. Although moving the private event from Bryant Park to another place was good news for the public, the economical results are not that thrilling. Since last year a private entity (Lincoln Center) is pocketing the money for a public space (Damrosch Park).

Besides the fact that the park will be closed for the public to host the Fashion Week, Lincoln Center is using that space to host other private events, as well.

Melt: a Site-Specific Dance Installation

I saw Melt on 29th of August in Salt Pile. It is a site-specific dance installation by Noémie Lafrance. When you first enter the site, you saw eight dancers hanging on the wall and melting under the sunset, which I think is pretty cool. Unfortunately, that first impression lost it's impressive-effect after five minutes. The half an hour show became boring.
However, it was an interesting experience to see how the whole choreography was developed specifically for the site. Since the site was right under the Manhattan bridge, they even danced to the trains rumbling noise.

and here is the New York Times review of the performance:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/21/arts/dance/21melt.html

Private Property Line

These little signs embedded on the ground show you that there is a line -literally-. One small step over the line and you are in the private property. And if you cross that line (which anybody who's walking around on Madison, did it at least once, unintentionally) you need to follow some rules.

my manifesto

A public space with rules, regulations, restrictions cannot reflect the essence of the public space. We must stop deceiving ourselves by calling the privatized spaces ‘public’ and start drawing a line between ‘private’ and ‘public’.

This line should not be blurry, it should be sharp and clear.

Limitation and privatization of public spaces means disconnecting people from zones of freedom, shutting down the forum which public life is acted out: loss of basic democratic rights.

Disfunctional public spaces are born.

Public spaces which are given over to private interests, should be given back to the public, should be redesigned in terms of free speaking, free acting and free moving.