Tactical Urbanism is Popping Up Everywhere

Call it "activated spaces," "tactical urbanism" or "pop ups," there's something afoot in the mashup of urban neglect, a sagging economy, digital tech, and burgeoning entrepreneurism.  And it's cropping up in Dayton, Atlanta, San Francisco, Fort Worth and anywhere you can imagine an instant art/food/shopping/play/fun experience.

New York

Fort Worth

Detroit

What is it?  It's a down and dirty way to re-imagine the urban landscape by inserting instant gardens, art, shops, food, music and anything else that can be plunked, dug, hoisted,or inserted into the empty lots, abandoned buildings and decaying streets of our cities.  Or you can think of it as a flash-mob-inspired taking-it-to-the-streets effort at revitalizing neighborhoods. It could be anything.  Even libraries, big

New York

and small

New York

Here's a blog devoted just to them.  And then there's chair bombing  

DoTank gets ready to chair bomb the neighborhood

And the results

You'll find a cool video and explanation of chair bombing from the DoTank site.

And, just for fun, here's a link to a stepping video performed on the Highline, one of the great city-sponsored new urbanism projects.

If you think about social media like Facebook and how it created a virtual community, this urban guerilla art/design/living movement is bringing that new sense of connection to the streets. I find all of it inspired. Creative. And of the moment. It certainly is fun. And it does compel us to see where and how we live with each other with new eyes. And a new sense of the possible.
  

Exploding Vision

D. Bailes

 Last time I was in New York I visited the High Line.  If you haven't been there, it's a space transformed, now an elevated  walkway/garden/observation post, that transports you to a new vision of the city.  It's a fully realized shift in view as it sets you apart from the every day urban street experience.  People visit it from all over the world.  And it's quiet presence has served as a catalyst for any number of architectural innovations.  

HL23 Website

D. Bailes

Take, for example, HL23 by Neil Denari.  Here's how he puts it:  "We wanted to make new architecture that honors the old in certain ways, but that stands as an elevated world, integrated with the High Line in a new way."  Here's what he's talking about:

Renderings from HL23 Website

Michael Falco for NYT

Limited to a small footprint, HL23 grows wide as it grows tall.  And it shows us how to use space differently, covering the steel framing with glass front and back, bowing and curving out. The NYT calls it "sleek and muscular as an Italian sports car."  I can only imagine how captivating your vision of New York would be if you were fortunate to observe the city from within its calmly elegant spaces.  

Michael Falco for NYT

And yes, HL23 was not designed to quietly blend into the neighborhood. Rather, it calls out for our attention.  And it does play well off the ever-changing  High Line.  I think it's a great example of how the High Line serves as a catalyst for a bolder vision.  
If you want more, John Hill blogs about architecture on his Archidose site and has some great photos showing the High Line and it's surrounds.  His site is a rich experience and you might want to spend some time exploring his take on architecture and design.