?Public space is the new backyard,? says Hamish Dounan, Associate Director of Street Furniture Australia. ?Great landscape architecture projects can actually get people out of their apartments and going for walks. It can get them engaging in a social way,? adds Shahana Mackenzie, CEO of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA). Trends to activate public spaces are increasing in popularity around the world; urban parks and gardens, vibrant street places, wider pedestrian walkways, cafes with outdoor seating. So during the 2016 International Festival of Landscape Architecture held in Canberra during October 2016, Street Furniture Australia launched a pop-up park in the underused urban space of Garema Place, in collaboration with AILA, the ACT Government and In The City Canberra. The aim of the pop-up park was to create a small social experiment, ?to test the theory that the fastest and most cost-effective way to attract people is to provide more places to sit.? In addition to moveable furniture, the park included bright colors, additional lighting, a lawn, free Wi-Fi and bookshelves as techniques to make Garema Place more inviting.
?Public space is the new backyard,? says Hamish Dounan, Associate Director of Street Furniture Australia. ?Great landscape architecture projects can actually get people out of their apartments and going for walks. It can get them engaging in a social way,? adds Shahana Mackenzie, CEO of the Australian Institu...