Design Ideas (#23): Caravan by Kevin Van Braak

via Treehugger
We do go on about how streets are for people, and love interventions like Rebar's Park(ing) that has become a global phenomenon. Designer Kevin Van Braak beat them by a couple of years with his 2004 instant park, carved out of a caravan, or camper trailer. He stripped an old trailer down to the metal, cut it up, hinged the pieces and and can simply tow it into place, park and unfold it. We need a fleet of these for Park(ing) day.

Design Ideas #25: Skips

Goldsmiths University graduate Oliver Bishop-Young presented two projects about skips at New Designers in London earlier this month.

It's like PARK(ing) in a box!

Like skip-art, you can design PARK(ing) spaces with a sense of enclosure, height, and interactivity.

See all Skip garden, pools and parks via dezeen.

Design Ideas (#23): Spark

(image: The Spark party, with Paul Fairweather and Yenda Carson’s light installation seen in the foreground.)

In 2006, Spark was exhibiting a number of lighting installations by Brisbane's established designers, architects and artists.

via Euroluce: With a desire to “promote the excellent design potential” of Queenland designers, and “facilitate cross-pollination among creative thinkers”, Alex Lotersztain and Surya Graf invited 12 QLD designers from diverse fields to each create a sculpture of light. The glow-in-the-dark floor, dancers getting jiggy-with-it, suspended luminaires, mirrored screens lit with LEDs, pools of floating mirror-balls, flowing champagne and beer, and a giant glisten disco ball, all brought a Sparkle, that October night

PARK(ing) has usually happened during the day, but it is targeted at ALL pedestrian activity. Nighttime activity in streets and public spaces is a vital part of vibrant, creative and safe cities.

Consider lighting, projections and night PARK(ing).
(*Your parking restrictions are even probably more relaxed at night too!)

Design Ideas (#22) Work never was so fun

Why is it we too often we separate 'work' from 'play' in our minds? PARK-Fi was a park with Wi-Fi internet by TPL Office, San Francisco (2007)

Grab your workplace to create a PARK.
Consider it
a) team bonding for staff,
b) a way to promote your workplace,
c) a fun experience for your customers/clients
d) a really unique venue for meetings and doing work

The "work-play balance" of PARK(ing) which is that mix between serious professional issues and fun expression is one of the very reason why I personally love the concept. Funnily enough, mixing "work" and "play" activities together in a physical land use and urban design sense is also related to sustainable cities, urban consolidation and vibrant public realm.

Design Ideas (#21): Melbourne and Victorian Design Festival

With the Melbourne International Design Festival and Victorian Design Festival "State of Design" happening right now I'm a little bit jealous. Some of the creative things happening as part of these programs are sharing PARK(ing) themes, and could also inspire ideas for your spaces -

State of Design

• My Patch My Eco City (city model making for kids)
• RMIT Urban spaces (postcard series about urban design)
• Art & Architecture Symposium
• Eat Green Design: A temporary restaurant that serves as an incubator for sustainable thinking
• Everything is Every-Think (found objects)
• 'Have You Seen It?' (various installations will be located in public spaces in the four blocks around the intersection of La Trobe Street and Swanston Street)
• Tell Me (captures the imagination of the person in the street and asks them, "How could today have been better for you?")
• 3 Tonne'o'Space (exhibition in a truck)
• The Liquid Landscape/Architecture as Metaphor

Melbourne Design Festival

• 18 Chairs Escape (furniture)
• This is This isn't (everyday objects)
• Oasis (astro turf on Swanston St)
• MAX GRR!! (laneway performance)
• The Don't Sweat Shop (youth and sustainable design)
• Melbourne Unbuilt (architecture)
• Vertical Garden (landscape)
• Melbourne Open House (architecture)

Design Ideas (#20) Dancing Grass Vans

Via WebUrbanist:
Owned by renegade smoothie makers "Innocent" the vans are covered in grass and can often be seen around the city (London) making deliveries and drawing stares. Because they serve a real purpose (delivering smoothies), the vans don’t look like advertisements. But do you forget the name of a company with grass-covered vans? Never.

Design Ideas (#19) Tickets

PARK(ing) is all about creative and fun ways to send messages. You are encouraged to hand out materials relevant to the day and your group.

As part of PARK(ing) 2007, this is a PARK(ing) Violation ticket in Pilsen, Chicago for the Cesar Chavez Community Garden

Design Ideas (#18): Ecostore Ads

These are the very clever street ads for ECOStore (a New Zealand company making healthier and safer alternatives to household cleaning products).

You can buy the ECOStore range from our PARK(ing) friends at BioMe Living.
2 Latrobe Terrace, Paddington
215 Adelaide St, City

Groups and businesses participating in Brisbane PARK(ing) should use the day as a form of creative street advertising for their ideas, services, interests, and products.

The image comes from Osocio which is full of thought-provoking social advertising and non-profit campaigns. Thanks Morgan for the link.

Design Ideas (#17) Designex 08 Displays

Just like the displays at trade shows, PARK(ing) offers a platform for the creative and eye-catching promotion of ideas, products and businesses. These are my photos from Designex 2008 of displays that could particularly inspire PARKers

Patio Landscape Architecture & Design 'Outdoor Room' supported by Fytogreen, Finalyson's Timbers, Andreasens Green Nursery.

Limoto Sport Newgrass (astroturf)

The Selvedge Group (wallpaper) for clever card construction

Pol Oxygen (magazine) designed by LAVA Laboratory for Visionary Architecture using fabric and astro turf


Architectural Bookshop by Whitehouse Institute of Design students using Xanita (boards made from paper waste)


Axolotl Metal (metal finish) using MDF

Design Ideas (#16) Remember to Dream

Visit Map Magazines's "Remember to Dream Park" on Morse St, Newstead.

Just like PARK(ing) Day, it's a really simple, clever and temporary idea which helps change and improve the experience of public spaces. It's offered in a spirit of generosity and as something fun and different to the usual walk home, it inspires thought, excitement, creativity and positive change. These are all principles I hope you keep in mind for your PARKs.

Design Ideas (#15) Flower Shows

Flower shows are brilliant showcases of innovative landscape architecture and demonstrate how open space design can occur in temporary and small spaces. Get PARK(ing) inspiration from the themes and ideas of the -
2007 Chelsea Flower Show (UK)
2008 Chelsea Flower Show (this May)
2005-2007 Melbourne International Flower Show
Northwest and San Fransisco Flower Show
Ellersille International Flower Show (NZ)

Design Ideas (#14) Music

I love the Elio Moda/ Lawless salon corner of Elizabeth St and Edward St where they have the open air DJ. Instantly that music changes your usual experience of the street and standing at the lights.

I also love how 2007's Big Sound showcased local talent like Andrew Kennedy on the carriages of the Airport Airtrain. Can you imagine if Translink funded a similar arts project as part of their promotion of public transport use, and making everyday commuter experiences more fun?

Public spaces has always been places for musical expressions so why not consider something musical or performance based in your PARK.

Design Ideas (#13) Gates

The Gates in Central Park in 2005 is such a stunning example of how temporary bursts of colour can be powerful on everyday urban landscapes.

They say colours can evoke different emotions and feelings, so consider bold and bright colours in your PARKs

The famous park itself is of course such a classic example of the ideas and principles about public open space and city amenity that PARK(ing) Day raises.

Design Ideas (#12) Talking Cities

Just like PARK(ing) the 2006 "Talking Cities" Exhibition created a collective dialogue on reconfiguring and reactivating the marginal, residual, undervalued, and public spaces of our cities.

It presented architectural and urban design strategies together with artistic positions as a vital social and communicative tool. There are brilliant urban themes in all work but some particular ones to inspire PARK(ing) uses are -

• Chair made from an wire fence by Andreas Bergmann
• Temporary library "reading sculpture' made from beer crates (pictured) by KARO
• Temporary housing made from fabric by Tobias Lehmann and Floris Schiferli
• Pool tables in public space by Map Office
• Graffiti Light sculpture by Recto

"Architecture should allow people to think the unthinkable!” Cedric Price.
So should your PARKs!

Design Ideas (#11) Bikes

PARK(ing) has always had a strong link with bikes not only in questioning how a street gets shared by cars, people and bikes but also in San Francisco they move their PARK(ing) materials by bikes too.

In Toronto, to help launch a waterfront improvement plan in 2006, a temporary cycleway and art installation was created. The sculpture was made from 300 old unclaimed bikes and called the "l'arc de cyclomphe” (pictured).

As part of your PARK design, you might consider bikes in your transport and themes

Design Ideas (#10) Tom Dixon

Tom Dixon is known not only for his furniture designs but his transformation of public spaces to celebrate design. On several occasions he's taken over Trafalgar Square in large installation and public events, including -

A) The Bombay Sapphire Stretch of 2005 (80 metres of temporary public seating
B) The Great Chair Grab of 2006 (hundreds of moulded chairs used in the square then given away for free)
C) The Great Light Giveaway of 2007 (Hundred of energy efficient bulbs used in a light installation and then given away for free)

Like these project, you might consider free giveways, the visual impact of repetitive forms, and the idea of scale in your PARK designs.

Design Ideas (#9) More Space

Depending where you PARK, you probably need a minimum of 2 spaces (one for your PARK and one for your transport and stuff).

You might also consider the grouping of spaces for great visual impact and design opportunities. The Palm Springs PARK(ing) shown uses 2 spaces together.

As teams register locations, the online mapping will start to show clusters of PARKs and we are working on strategic dedicated locations to cluster (CBD).

Design Ideas (#8) Sustainable Materials

"Sustainable Style" at the Australian International Furniture Fair in Sydney asked 6 teams to create their own eco-designed living space. Using a minimum of 75% sustainable products, designers explored such things as plantable seeds in recycled materials, sustainable foam and whole rooms made of recycled cardboard.

PARK(ing) Day is an opportunity to showcase and start a similar dialogue about all design. Brisbane Indesign will be happening the Saturday after PARK(ing) Day, and together they present the opportunity to celebrate local creativity.

Design Ideas (#7) Crates

Milk crates make for good impromptu and easily movable PARK(ing) furniture.

Designer Stefan Lie shows you can make a lounge with about 20 crates. His lounge featured cushions and a slipcover made from vinyl advertising billboards, and was part of the 2005 Workshopped event in Sydney.

Click image for link

Design Ideas (#6) Time and Space

PARKs can stay as long as parking restrictions allow for and depending on how keen you are it could be hours, so consider the element of time in your PARKs.

PARKs can slowly 'disappear'. In 2006 PARK(ing) in London, Roger Allen and Helena Rivera had 552 rosemary plants that were given away to passersby throughout the day.

PARKs can also slowly "appear". In 2007 PARK(ing) in San Francisco, EDAW slowly changed their space by adding more and more glass bottles.