cedric price student newspaper

RE CLAIMING PUBLIC SPACE

Cedric Price:

think the thinkable

un

PG 2 PG 3

Cedric Price Reclaiming Public Space


Schools:

Glasgow School of Art/ Fine Art/ Sculpture

& Environmental Art

Tutor: Justin Carter

Glasgow School of Art/ Fine Art/

Fine Art Photography

Tutor: Christina McBride

Mackintosh School of Architecture,

Undergraduate Programme

Tutors: Robert Mantho, Tilo Einert,

Reiner Nowak, Adrian Stewart, Nick Walker

University of Strathclyde/

Department of Architecture

Tutors: Ulrike Enslein, Ewan Imrie

With thanks to

David Hasson

Ian Appleton

Dele Adeyemo (PidginPerfect)

This publication is part of the exhibition

Cedric Price – Think the Unthinkable.

The exhibition ran at The Lighthouse,

Glasgow from March to September 2011.

The exhibition was delivered by

Architecture + Design Scotland’s (A+DS)

ACCESS to Architecture programme.

A+DS is Scotland’s champion for

excellence in placemaking, architecture

and planning. A+DS runs six programmes

with offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The Scottish Government is the principal

sponsor of Architecture + Design Scotland’s

programme of architecture and outreach

activities based at The Lighthouse.

Design: Graphical House + NORD

Cedric Price demanded new ways of looking at the world and challenged the architectural establishment by favouring radical cross-disciplinary models of collaboration. He advocated democratisation, mobility, temporality, criticality, play and risk-taking as essential qualities and values necessary to challenge conventional ‘solutions’.

‘Public space’ is a commonly used phrase, but one whose meaning has shifted, historically speaking, from spaces of open social exchange and interaction to more complex and regulated spaces of consumption and control.

This cross-school project between the Glasgow School of Art and the University of Strathclyde and instigated by Architecture + Design Scotland, brought together 148 students from architecture, fine art, photography and sculpture. Over two weeks in October 2010 they collaborated in 19 groups on a project investigating ‘public space’ in the current cultural context.

Using a map that sliced Glasgow into sections radiating from the centre, each group embarked on a journey within their given slice to rediscover ‘public space’ within Glasgow’s inner-city. Crossing the city from the periphery to the centre, the groups discovered, defined and recorded public spaces along their routes. After the initial fieldwork the students analysed their observations, recorded their findings, discussed strategies, and designed and created interventions on particular locations.

Central to this project was the need to re-examine the fabric and forces that constitute the urban environment, physical and otherwise. The students’ task was to work collaboratively within their groups, and to actively and critically engage with the city and its population using methods of their own invention. Key questions were those of access and ownership and rights and responsibilities. Key aims were opportunities to identify, democratise and activate public space.

On the 14th October 2010, all groups presented their findings and interventions in a final presentation in studios at Strathclyde University. Within this publication are a selection of works from these presentations.

Two Weeks 148 Students 19 Groups 19 Projects

Intro

PG 4 PG 5



Glasgow City Centre Project Areas:

Index

01&17 02&18

03&19

04

05

06

070809

10

11

12

13

14

1516

Group 01_ Bus Watching PG 07 Group 02_ Steps and Stage PG 08 Group 03_ Alter the Way People Walk PG 09 Group 04_ P is for Public PG 10 Group 05_ Pedestrian Motorway PG 16 Group 06_ Paddy’s Market PG 19 Group 07_ River as Public Space PG 20 Group 08_ Dust and Demolition PG 21 Group 09_ Under the Bridge PG 25 Group 10_ Transition and Temporary Space PG 26 Group 11_ Activities on Tradeston Bridge PG 28 Group 12_ Funny Diverson PG 29 Group 13_ Public Pavements PG 32 Group 14_ Spotlight on Lightwells PG 33 Group 15_ Late, Night Action PG 34 Group 16_ Symphony of Glasgow PG 36 Group 17_ Don’t Look Now PG 38 Group 18_ Public Playtime PG 40 Group 19_ Ideas and Interventions PG 41

PG 6 PG 7



BUS WATCHING

Our group was interested in Cedric Price’s idea of ‘anticipatory architecture’ and his belief that architecture should not be permanent and allow for continual change.

We immersed ourselves in our site by exploring several routes along Hope Street and West Nile Street. We noted the sights, smells and noise as well as the organisation of public space, in particular the bus stops. We felt that the streets’ bus stops gave us an opportunity that could be exploited. Price influenced our idea that we could enable our ‘audience’ at the bus stop - to heighten their experience and interact with something. Audiences came and went with each bus departure thus creating and ever-changing venue.

Through a series of tests we questioned what could enhance a person’s experience at the bus stop. Our tests revealed that bus stops are a well designed public space and we discussed whether it was appropriate to force change on a space that fulfils its function effectively. Therefore, we decided to play with and emphasise the time people spent waiting for a bus. We introduced the term ‘bus-watching’ to encourage both play and reflection while looking for a bus. We also made a cut out of a commuter to stand and hail the bus enabling people to use their time more freely and providing a humorous talking point.

Group 1:

Siti Muniratussa Adah Ahmad Mustaffa

Kelsy Alexander

Stanley Allen-Pickard

Karina Baillie

Victoria Hughes

Susanne Kassner

Caitlin Thomson

Ri Jin Yoo

Bus Watching

PG 8 PG 9



Group 2:

Antonios Antoniou

Hans Peter Auken Beck

Kirsten Buchanan

Ming Chen

Stewart Craven

Emma Dragovic

Anne Broe Kristensen

Lyndsay McMorran

Steps and Stage

We looked at two main sites within our segment of the city; the seating area outside Buchanan Bus Station and the steps in front of the Concert Hall at the top of Buchanan Street. We studied how people occupied these spaces. Both were busy, but the bus station was somewhere where people passed through and didn’t stop whereas the Concert Hall was more of a meeting point for social interaction where people would stop and have lunch, etc. We then focused on the steps and decided to exploit this amphitheatre to the street, which was almost a stage, where people could watch the everyday. We wanted to insert something that was slightly away from the norm and would attract some attention but not too unusual, creating a performance within the public everyday world. The balloons brought fun and colour to the area yet were objects people were familiar with.

Our design was inspired by Cedric Price’s urge to integrate an element of fun into the everyday. The project was an experiment and the process could be repeated several times, encouraging interaction in the public realm, something Price promoted. It allowed us to discover more about the public and how they behave. Our experiment demonstrated that embarrassment and a belief of how one should behave in a public space comes with age, as children are happy to ‘play’ in public whereas adults are far more cautious. Creating a spectacle for a short period of time throughout the day also related to Price’s ideas of temporality.

Our group wanted to explore the reasons why people choose the routes they do and how we could alter their journey and enhance their walking experience. We felt that people hurry when walking to their destination rather than taking the time to enjoy their surroundings and overall experience.

We focused on one particular secluded area on a busy crossroads on Cathedral Street that people were avoiding, despite it being central to the area and sheltered by trees. We tried a number of experiments using a variety of props to alter public routes and direct people. In order that our results be reflective of the person’s choice of route it was important that people were offered the option to be diverted or not. How people reacted was observed throughout the day.

Eventually we took our ideas a little bit further. We wanted to encourage people to use this area as a public space - to stop in this isolated spot. A two-day installation was set up that involved

a number of activities, whereby people could choose to stop and interact with them, such as a wishing tree. We found that in addition to people interacting with the activities many people now chose to use this area as a gathering point. It was now an inhabited and a functional space.

Not only was this experiment a huge success but in relation to Cedric Price’s work it plays with the idea of creating something temporary within a public space; that although the diversions may not remain today, they will remain a powerful memory for individuals who chose to take part.

Group 3:

Rosalind Josephine Blake

Gemma Campbell

Brigid Daily

Eva Katja Sofia Larsson

Chai Wei Lee

Kris Rutherford

Iona Stephen

Dimitar Svilenov

Alter the Way People Walk

PG 10 PG 11



Transition, mobility, temporary inhabitation and underused unsocial spaces: these were the topics of most resonance to our group after our initial site visit. Radiating from the transport hub of Central Station to High Street, our site incorporated small areas of Buchanan Street and George Square, and included all of Ingram Street. It was the latter street on which we focused.

Ingram Street is a constant thoroughfare, inhabited by clusters of car parking where commuters would leave their vehicle in sites of great potential. We were fascinated by the idea of a mobile community who would regularly utilise these spaces, rarely communicating or appreciating their context.

We examined the concept further by carrying out our task with several agit props. A newspaper stand was used as a forum for discussion and to collect key topics of interest for this mobile community over the course of the week. We concluded this consultation with a day-long production in a car-parking space, including an early breakfast with free rolls and a night time drive-in cinema.

Group 4:

Esme Brooker

Scott Brotherton

Scott Johnson

Stephen Grainger

Diana Lindbjerg Jorgensen

Maeve Magennis

Adam Wright

Cameron Young

P is for Public

PG 12 PG 13



PG 14 PG 15



P is for Public

PG 16 PG 17



A reason for diverting people – delight? A kind of follow the yellow brick road/fairy lights/rail of cakes……. to some kind of fun light spectacle

– you could choose a side street which has two entrances and see if you can get people to meet in the middle to experience the 'delight'. Challenge established uses of land – do something unexpected with it.

Group 5:

Lorna Mhairi Campbell

Sophie Campbell

Lucinda Eccles

Lynne Gibson

Leon Xueyang Han

Paul Kyriou

Katherine Helen Mackay

Rebecca Thomas

Pedestrian Motorway

LOITERING FAST LANE

SHOPPERS

SLOW LANE

INDIVIDUALS BUSINESS2+ 4+

PG 18 PG 19



Paddy’s Market was a historical market that had been in existence at a variety of locations throughout the city for almost 200 years. Unfortunately it was closed by Glasgow City Council in 2009, when they took over the current site’s lease from Network Rail. The locals seemed disheartened and resentful at the closure of the market, blaming the Council for the loss of their local lifeline and the heart of their community. Many of the traders took part in a procession to the City Chambers.

Our aim was to draw new attention to a once important but now forgotten and decrepit space. It was essential that we create an intervention that dealt with the relationship between the imprints of history and the current activity within the area while celebrating and reflecting upon the success of Paddy’s Market. Our non-commissioned, non-invited intervention in this urban landscape successfully captured the attention of the local community.

We began by interviewing locals to collect more information about the site. We printed historical pictures of Paddy’s Market and posted them on the wall where Paddy’s Market once was. It was nice to see the smiling face of locals and retailers from the area, some who once owned a stall in Paddy’s Market. They gathered around the wall and talked about the past. Some described how Paddy’s Market operated, what it look liked and also shared their experiences and thoughts with us. As it was a success, we further developed it into a miniature of Paddy’s Market in front of the solid metal gate that separates Paddy’s Market from the community.

Group 6:

Scott James Caruth

Raine Chong

Rebbeca Gerrard

Jaromir Hausman

Ping Li

Louis Molinari

Nicholas Teng Guo Hao

Julia Underwood

Paddy’s Market

PG 20 PG 21



As we approached the river, we were haunted by the sense of distance. The remoteness of the opposite shore was enhanced by the sparseness of where we stood. The River Clyde stretches quiet, cold and dark, creating a void between two worlds. There is no connection, both realities coexist without any kind of cultural or social exchange.

Such is the example of this urban slice. Between north and south there is only linear communication through road bridges whose physical characteristics drive the travelers into a hermetic shell. Does public space exist here? Cedric Price questioned social assumptions and, as such, the notion of public space inviting scrutiny.

We considered it was important to awaken the passers-by to the fact that the river exists and is an urban component of extreme potency but, above all, that they were crossing it. The key idea we wanted to convey was that the river is public space. The River Clyde can become a destination instead of the element of transition it is today. The rippled surface and the urban void are the basis for subverting the relationship between north and south in a possible future intervention.

Group 7:

Andrew Carr

Jane Collingwood

Alice Jacobs

John MacLennan

Fardein Omar

Joshua Murphy

Jenna Nicol

Joao Manuel Pereira Da Silva

River as Public Space

Group 8:

Jonah Cels

Sam De Santis

Clare Marks

Clare Mathews

Anne Marika Nyyssonen

Wojciech Omiljanoski

Harriet Ridout

Koryn Steinbok

Dust and Demolition

Our group was most inspired by Cedric Price’s key ideas of temporality and mobility. When we first visited the site we were overwhelmed by the dust that clouded the air and gathered in piles on the ground. Coming from the demolition of a high-rise residential tower the day before, the dust had a negative impact throughout the community: dirtying surfaces everywhere and making people cough. When we returned the next day the dust had diffused into the atmosphere until no longer noticeable, rain had washed the piles away. If this had been our first visit it would have had a much milder impact. We therefore focused on dust which only had a temporary effect and used it to bring colour to this grey area.

Our initial approach to the project was to get involved with the community. We wanted to find something that the area needed, and create an intervention with the people rather than insert a piece of work with no relationship to them. We began by chatting to pedestrians and people from local businesses, and then with a family living in Norfolk Court, the high rise adjacent to the demolition site. This family had five children and we asked them about the small playground between their flat and the demolition site. “We haven’t played there in ages,” they told us. This area, which should be colourful, was grey and uninviting. After meeting the children we were inspired by their enthusiasm and excitement, and we asked them if they would help us with our project to bring colour back by decorating the playground. Using the same dust which had such a negative effect previously we created a positive effect on the area.

PG 22 PG 23



PG 24 PG 25



Group 9:

Flora Debechi

Ji Hoon Kim

Christopher MacInnes

Kevin McLaughlin

Ronan Morris

Kristine Ristesund

Ashwini Sivakumaran

Baolong Teo

Under the Bridge

As a group we questioned the aspects of public space, specifically what it is and how it could be used. Our site comprised the roads east and west of the trainline running south from Central Station. The transitional movement of the site changed on three levels: the slow pace of the pedestrians; the constant speed of the trains; the stop-start movement of the road traffic. A cycle trip down this route emphasised the combination of static and flowing movement on the road. Every 100 yards a set of traffic lights stopped both the traffic and pedestrian movement. This led us to our intervention. At these points lay several bridges under the rail lines. These spaces where awash with atmosphere. The noise from the trains created a baseline rhythm which was sometimes overwhelmed by the echoes from the road traffic. However at certain times there was almost silence. The space was also dark, even during the day. For this reason the areas seemed intimidating and could be uncomfortable places to travel through.

Our intervention was to not change the use of space but to enhance it. We decided to add light and to use the shape of the bridge to create interesting sounds. After several ideas we decided that classic comedy sketches, from the era when the shipbuilding industry was at its peak, would not only add a light-hearted approach to the installation but inspire a nostalgic response. The influence of Cedric Price within our work came from the Potteries Thinkbelt, a concept to transform a socially collapsed industrial area into a mobile university. Also influential was the Magnet Series in London which had the idea of installed short-life structures in sites that were misused or underused. These ideas were useful in creating a thought process from which our bridge intervention arrived.

PG 26 PG 27



We investigated the site by searching for instances of exchange and interaction within Tradeston. Due to the location, these moments were incredibly difficult to capture. The area was used more as a transitional space that people move through rather than to stop and meet. A key Cedric Price theme is the idea of transition and temporary space. Our group focused on this notion of transitional space as there were no instances of public space, only places where people and traffic passed through.

On mapping the area we discovered that the site had natural and manmade boundaries that isolate the area from the rest of the city. These boundaries include the River Clyde to the north, the railway bridge to the east, the M8 motorway to the west and the new M74 extension to the south.

From these observations we looked at the idea of boundaries and transitional space by using a number of techniques to record and challenge what we had encountered. Recorded movement caught people coming to the site to collect their cars and drive off, proving that this notion of transition does exist. The head contractor for the new motorway extension allowed us to take a walk along the motorway, providing us with a new viewpoint across the site.

To draw people to the other side of the River Clyde and away from the city centre we set up two interventions designed to grab people’s attention and spark an interest in this ‘lost’ area of Tradeston. We used the playful method of tin cans on a string to create a communication link across the river and as a metaphor for ‘bridging the divide’. We set up a series of mirrors to reflect the buildings along the opposite bank of the Clyde. This encouraged people to stop, look and question, rather than simply walk by.

Group 10:

Michael Archer

Samuel Joseph Dransfield

Stephanie McCaffer

Rory More

Kunio Narizumi

Clare Reid

Ellen Andrea Schafer

Transition and Temporary Space

PG 28 PG 29



Tradeston Bridge connects Tradeston to the Broomielaw and the Glasgow International Financial District on the north bank of the River Clyde, and is used by the public to cross the river on a daily basis. The idea was to slow the pace of city life and make passers-by pay more attention to the space they often ignore by turning it into into an interesting public space.

We started with the idea to divide the Tradeston Bridge into three separate sections: work, leisure and home. We developed this idea and created different activities on the Tradeston Bridge to record the reaction of the public. To make spaces social we set up activities such as a free tea-drinking area, a private area for reading, sketching or fishing. We also created new routes by using recycling boxes as obstacles

In 1984, Cedric Price proposed the redevelopment of London’s South Bank, and anticipated the London Eye by suggesting that a giant Ferris wheel should be constructed by the River Thames. There was some similarity between the two projects as both were situated next to rivers which once hosted the main activities of these cities in the past.

The London Eye is a successful idea that has became a major landmark and tourist attraction since it opened. However, the creation of Tradeston Bridge and pedestrian area by Clyde Waterfront Regeneration has failed to achieve what the London Eye did. Therefore we created, in an area that has been ignored, an interesting playful socialised place for the public providing them with an attraction at the River Clyde.

Group 11:

Martyn Dunlop

Neil Fordham

Philip Goodman

Jack Hughes

Fatt Lum Kah

Sabina Philip

Blythe Sheppard

Minori Tamori

Activities on Tradeston Bridge

Our area ran from the river bank under Kingston Bridge to Central Station. Most of this land has lain empty and unused for many years and now resembles an urban wilderness. We looked for opportunities to change the way that people used the space, however it was clear that few people walked that way and so our chances of getting the public involved were limited.

Therefore we looked for other spaces where the public did pass through and our focus shifted to the commuters in their cars under Kingston Bridge. As there were often queues of traffic waiting at the traffic lights, we decided that these drivers would be our audience. We also felt that the space beneath the bridge was depressing and offered little to look at while people were waiting and so our aim was to transform this space into a fun diversion from the daily commute.

To achieve this we created a number of signs diverting the traffic to the central lane (which is meant for parking) as well as a number of signs with jokes written on them. Initially it was difficult to get people to take the new route but eventually one car come down and the car behind followed it. The reactions of the drivers and passengers in both cars were very different: the first car enjoyed the route and laughed and waved to us as they passed; but the drivers of the second car (who did not intentionally choose the route) was annoyed and pulled his sun flap down to hide his face from us. After these two cars no others came come down our route so we decided to take the route to them by lining the side of the main road. This certainly got more reactions, good and bad.

Group 12:

James Bowie

Jack Farrell

Alex Garthwaite

Grant Heron

Amy Kerr

Mark MacPhail

Gail McLintock

Dan Williams

Funny Diversion

PG 30 PG 31



HA HA

PG 32 PG 33



The group’s objective from the very outset was to identify and exploit an area within the city that would normally go unnoticed/ unappreciated, essentially manufacturing our own public space. Through our various site investigations, we were all attracted to one particular location within our area, one in which we could really push boundaries and question the idealisms of public/private in the city.

The empty lifeless lightwells (or ‘dunnys’) which run parallel to St Vincent Street are ignored by both their owners and the people who pass by them on a daily basis. On Bath Street, however, one city block along, these spaces are utilised to their full potential and are filled with bars, clubs, cafes and restaurants. But why is this?

We devised five individual activities that we could perform in and around these spaces, each with its own distinct strategy. Our aim with these activities was not to necessarily urge people to use the space, but more to provoke a reaction from either the public/ private regarding ownership and responsibility.

Group 14:

Joshua Broomer

Jo Gallagher

Christopher Gracie

Jess Grainne

Ewan Kerr

Harry Thomson

Yuan Zhang

Spotlight on Lightwells

Group 13:

Louise Bell

Shane Bradley

Ulrikke Dreyyer

Anthony Paul Barr Gallagher

Holly Gardner

Kiran Javaid

Richard Wilson

Lauren Zaser

Public Pavements

The purpose of the Cedric Price workshop is to create innovative and thought-provoking ideas to encourage people to engage with public space. Its aim is to enable people to think the unthinkable. The interesting question is: what is public space anyway? Should it be responsive to visitors and its users’ needs?

The site we chose is under the motorway bridge at Anderston train station. It is a dull, noisy and remote location away from the city centre. It is a place where people hesitate to stop or spend time. The idea of adding colour through images and texture by laying grass to the site somehow changed the perception of the site’s users. On their hurried journeys they came across the unexpected which made them stop and look and hopefully think about the space they were in.

PG 34 PG 35



Group 15:

Alice Escher

David Fletcher

Stephanie Lois Gardiner

Fahad Malik

Aoibhin McGinley

Jack Taylor

Slava Savona

Late, Night Action

Our area began at the Glasgow School of Art and reduced in scale towards its tapered end at Glasgow’s Central Station. Initial observations identified the grid and well-defined hierarchy of perpendicular streets. To trace a route from one edge of the slice to the other, one is required to zig-zag through the commercially clad streets of the city centre. To subvert this route, an opportunity lay in the maligned network of city lanes.

What if the function of these spaces could be brought into question? An intervention that would appear, transform the space, then recede into the night. On the evening of the 12th October, balloons carrying this message were seen gently floating across Glasgow’s city centre. Sauchiehall Lane was subverted into a spectacle of light and music for one night only; the lane became a canvas, a place of curiosity and invention.

Of Cedric Price’s work, we valued a number of themes that held resonance in our own aspirations for a public intervention. The questioning of permanence in architecture and the use of technology to perpetuate an ideal were potent in our understanding of positioning an intervention in public space. Further to this, we explored the notion of boundaries and blurring genres to provide answers to socio-political and cultural circumstances.

The expansion and use of time, alongside breadth, length and height, as the fourth dimension intrigued and informed our questioning of space and preconceived notions of use and hierarchy within the commercial hub of Glasgow’s city centre.

PG 36 PG 37



With the invention of the mobile phone, has the public phone-box been lost as an area of public space?

The 21st century has seen an overwhelming increase in the use of mobile phones: at present nine out of 10 people over the age of 13 carry a mobile phone causing a decline in the need for the use of the public payphone. The phone-box is fundamentally an instrument for communication so in order to reclaim the space we wanted to use instruments to communicate. We also wanted to examine the paradox between the phone-box as a public space and the phone-box as a space where private conversations occur.

We proposed to turn the phone-boxes on Sauchiehall Street into 'microphones' that will stream music created within them, live to the internet. Be it a professional musician, a busker, or a small child with a penny whistle, we wanted people to engage and interact with phone-boxes as never before. Lifting the receiver would

activate the start of the streaming process, allowing individually created anonymous musical tracks to form part of a larger whole, available on the web as a 'symphony of Glasgow' whereby tracks could be played back simultaneously by the listener. The streams were also organised by geographical location so that in the future the recording phone-boxes could be positioned anywhere in the world.

The project is individual at the creation level, but also interactive with groups of people able to access the music online. The project carries forth Price’s ideas about spaces facilitating a desired activity of the user, rather than dictating what should occur within the space: people should be able to use public spaces in the way they want to. Much like the Fun Palace, this project sees the ‘structure’ as a container/facilitator for the activity, not simply the boundary.

Group 16:

Mollye Bendell

Kevin Chim

Andrea Dunlop

Janneke Earl

Kate Hunt

Jamie Sansbury

Douglas White

Colin Watson

Symphony of Glasgow

PG 38 PG 39



Group 17:

Tasha Aitken

Kesia Barone

Gary Cullen

Lee Hutchinson

Samuel Macro

Brodie Williams

Umar Valimahomed

Don’t Look Now

This project addressed the perception of public space and in particular observed and challenged the way people use it. Upon exploring our site it became clear that there was a serious lack of lateral movement, in particular with Renfield Street being a route for Glasgow buses and a busy pedestrian route. We decided that a network of alleyways could be used to greater advantage and in particular could create a series of uses. Our chosen location was West George Lane.

While gathering information we observed and examined the way people used the space. Our first challenge was to understand people’s responses to temporal changes to the space, to test what elements would attract people. We created signposts: ‘Do Not Look’ as a means of testing whether people would stop to observe; and ‘Free Hugs’ as a means of testing if people would interact with this space, and more importantly, with the people within this space. The results were encouraging, with a high number of people interacting.

On studying the more successful precedents in the city we concluded that a visual intervention was most important, with particular attention paid to the lighting. It was also suggested that a unique use, or a large number of people within a space, would change people’s perception. Following this a series of possible interventions were made.

One of the possible interventions discussed was that of a pop-up cinema, somewhat like Cedric Price’s Fun Palace. In this spirit we decided to create a strip of tea lights, leading to an urban photo booth as a means of collecting visual documentation of the participants. This later collated in an online photo gallery with a link sent to the participants. On the night of the intervention, images were displayed of the pop-up cinema proposal. The results were encouraging, with many people suggesting that they would use spaces like this throughout the city.

PG 40 PG 41



The site is located opposite the Glasgow City Council offices. What intrigued us is the cultural context of the site and its relation to Glasgow City Council. We asked people passing by if they ever noticed the empty space dominated by two large billboards. Nearly everyone noticed the billboards only. With Cedric Price’s agenda in our minds, we intended to design a space that would help the site to be seen as a potential public space. In our minds, it was best to design an intervention where regular passers-by would be involved in decisions regarding the site. We handed out sheets of paper with outline perspective drawing of the site and asked passers-by to draw what they would propose on the site.

The idea behind our intervention was to re-examine the notion of ownership and the constraints of the site. Price’s agenda plays a key role in this as democratisation, criticality and mobility are the qualities used to challenge architectural ideas. As our ideas developed we came across a short film that was a recording of a talk by Price advocating interventions within Glasgow which would involve members of the public, without any architects, to discuss the use of certain spaces within the city. This clearly demonstrated the relationship between Price’s ideas and our intervention. Instead of deciding on a particular design we invented a

“tool” that enabled the members of the public to express their own ideas on public spaces. One of the participants commented on the intervention:

“No, I have never noticed the space before and I do not know what I would do with it yet. But now every time I walk past here, I will think about it.”

Group 19:

Agata Baranowska

Michal Jelski

Lawrence Khoshdel

Rachael Neville

Corrie-Anne Rounding

Arseni Timofejev

Kristian Tuomainen

Ideas and Interventions

Group 18:

Lee Bilson

Lyndsey Boyd

Madelaine Clarke

John Cullinan

Therese Jeanne Iacono

Natalie Pollock

Alastair Reid

Sophie Tan

Public Playtime

The segment of the city allocated to our group contained the main transport elements within the city (Central and Queen Street Stations, and Buchanan Street Bus station) and the main shopping thoroughfare of Buchanan Street itself. The group sought to explore the movements of people to and from these important transport hubs. Do people really pay attention to their journeys? Would commuters and shoppers react to a change in their environment? What is acceptable within the realm of public behaviour?

The group proceeded to ‘claim’ public space, initially for ourselves as users. We also restricted areas of public space to provoke a response from the public. This then developed into using the ‘claimed’ space to stimulate interaction, initiated by the situations we created. Depending on the nature of ‘claimed’ space we set up, the range of reactions was astonishing, ranging from anger and annoyance, fear and trepidation, to a distinct willingness to join in and play.

By instigating social experiments that aimed to interrupt the everyday flow of pedestrian traffic along an important thoroughfare in the heart of the city, we found people willing to venture out of their comfortable everyday journeys in the city, if only to spend five minutes playing a game with a stranger.

The work of Cedric Price focuses on the principles of mobility, multi-use, flexibility, spontaneity, and temporary relationships. Our work aimed to incorporate these ideas and challenge that which is routinely and readily accepted within the public realm. The group’s manifesto stated our wish to ‘facilitate the interactions and temporary relationships between passing strangers in the city’, a statement that we considered ourselves to have successfully executed.

PG 42 PG 43



Identify Democratise & Activate Public Space

Cedric Price:

think the thinkable

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cedric price student newspaper

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architecture programme

crossschool project

exhibition cedric price

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scotlands champion

strathclyde univ

students task

spaces of open social