Public Facilities and You
Valerie Ostermann, Georgia Alexander, Ben Michel, Liam Maccan, Michael Schönbas, Alex Longley, Amy Colgan

Public facilities reimagined – learn, share, move & socialise – whenever and wherever

This approach plays on the idea of breaking down the physical barriers between our current community facilities and bringing the benefits they offer, into our everyday life.
The aim is to create a unique and free experience that is accessible to everyone, catering for cultural, educational, and social experiences and connections within the community.

By decentralising and virtualising public facilities the design has the potential to reach a wider cohort of people and bring awareness to the public to encourage people to use the services and programs. The experiences are interwoven into our day-to-day life. People will be able to access these services within their lunch break, before or after work or on a weekend in the park.

The project facilitates education, cultural and social connections in a convenient and free way. It entices people to spend time in public space whilst they make use of watching an educational and interactive video on a touchpad at the ‘Urban Arboretum’, reading on a kindle from ‘Your Library’, connecting with loved ones using the free wifi at the ‘Social Hub’, or enjoying a lunchtime yoga class with hired sports equipment from ‘Your Gym’.

This project is transformational due to the seamless way in which it is integrated into our day-to-day lives. These hubs can be installed into parks, streets and plazas, each focusing on a different element, all of which will benefit not only the nature of our public facilities and public open spaces but also ones own mental health and wellbeing.