A school project aimed at revitalising the space of Garema Place. I conducted empathetic research into how the space has recently been used. The research found that Garema Place has recently been used as a thoroughfare, rather than an inviting space for families and groups of friends to sit.
Garema Place takes up a large portion of dedicated urban development space in the centre of Canberra, however, it is ineffective at its intended purpose. Despite being placed in a convenient location in the centre of Canberra it often remains as a thoroughfare with approximately 97% of people walking through the space without stopping (White Paper, 2017). The vast concreted space lacks vibrancy and it fails to attract users because of the lack of greenery and colour, as the space is dark and uninviting; especially at night. These influencing factors discourage people from wanting to use the space, further destroying its desirability and purpose. The space presents a range of opportunities to connect Canberrans by providing a convenient meeting place, offering an area for multi-purpose use. Therefor revitalisation should aim to effectively target both practical and aesthetic value and enhance its potential.
Urban revitalisation is the renewal of underused public spaces. As addressed in the design problem, Garema Place lacked purpose. After being opened to the public in 1963, there was no real understanding of what it was going to be used for; and subsequently, it was turned into a thoroughfare. In my final design, the factors affecting its unpopularity have been changed to promote the use of the space. Increased lighting, greenery, seating, and pathways will add to the vibrancy and increase the life within the area.
During the research stages of the revitalization, the target audience was identified to be people in their mid to high twenties who lived within the suburb, Civic. Furthermore, the dwelling make-up of Civic is 99.3% apartments. The inclusions into the revitalisation have been to direct more of this population into the area. Apartments are limited in their space and lack yard spaces for their residents. To attract these people into the space, there are heaps of grass and garden areas for multi-purpose activities that they could not do in their apartment. Also, it provides a meeting place for groups of friends, or quiet study areas for those in university or at work. Moreover, the greenery in the space is more attractive to users to sit, rather than walking through. Small concrete walls/barricades are placed around the edges of the grass areas to lure them into staying there and stop people from walking and ruining the grass. As seen in the image, at the exits/entries where there is grass there are barricades to reduce people walking on the grass and prevent others from interrupting users of the space.
Earlier in the ideation stage, I begin brainstorming about the layout of the pathing to best suit the area. However, after drawing out plans, I found the pathing was becoming more efficient and natural when I was building it around the greenery spaces and other seating. The final design compared to the first design looks a lot more sophisticated and directs a user through the space. I didn't want to take away the public's ability to walk through the space. Although during the empathetic research and design proposal the thoroughfare aspect of Garema Place was a negative, it can be built upon to keep the space lively and the efficiency is appreciated by those walking. If I was to take out the pathing, it would drive current users away and potentially be detrimental to the growth through revitalisation of the space, so it is instead capitalised on. There is a large strip of pathing down the middle of the main body and extended through the arms. It efficiently gets people to where they need to go without disrupting the peace of the people relaxing there.
Originally, seating was limited to benches, but now it has been expanded across Garema Place. My revitalisation skilfully has incorporated seating across the area by having it attached to the concrete barricades and garden beds. There is a range of choices of seating for everyone depending on their use. For studying individually there are corridors of seats between grassed areas. If in a larger group, seats are facing other seats between garden beds or there is the option to sit on the grassed areas.
Looking more at the design principles, they are repetition, balance, movement, emphasis, and unity in the design. Repetition and unity are used in the consistent geometric shapes. The seating, lawns, and lines are all tied together and create a neat-looking design. Furthermore, there is balance in the symmetrical pathing, as it is repeated on both sides. The is asymmetry in the difference between the arms, so I like how it is rebalanced in the body of Garema Place. There is movement and emphasis in the pathing and blocking of the area. The emphasis is specifically shown in the larger pathways, to direct large groups of people. Movement is also used in this way, but also through the smaller pathways that led to the shopfronts and along the larger strip of pavement.
Ethically and sustainably, the design incorporates, as mentioned, greenery. There might be a concern about the necessary amount of attention that is required for those plants. However, the rest of the materials (concrete and steel) are low maintenance and do not often require attention. There is some wood in the seating that might require attention, but timber has been used in small amounts to reduce the need for maintenance.
Overall, this revitalisation has ticked many of the addressed problems and promises to attract more users into the space on a more regular basis.
The construction of the physical model was made by making the files in Adobe Illustrator. Card and cardboard were then cut out on a laser cutter. Some of the smaller details include the birds, dogs and people, used to show how the new space would achieve the design aim.
