In 2001, for their 20th anniversary issue Metropolis magazine’s back page featured several architects’ and designers’ quick visions for future designs or objects.
Then, much public space was built as a result of private developer incentives – and meanly edged with serrated metal bars and spikes. Those were the days when benches were removed from subway stations.
Now, in the age of Google Streetview and a increasingly laser-like focus on pedestrianization, my vision of a “mapping device” that identifies “negative spaces” such as forecourts, sidewalks and parking lots – which was not all that exciting or commonly shared value then — seems prescient.
Next, connecting up atmospheres and activities through electronic controls. A scenography of public light and life.