One of my favorite guerrilla art collectives, Luzinterruptus, has taken to posting drawings by artist Marta Menacho in addition to their typical luminous urban interventions. As much as I love the work of this group, these sketches of ideas yet to come alive in physical form are almost more intriguing to me than the built work. These pieces not only reveal an idea but a character that is not always present in form as well as an exciting imagination that will not be slowed by physical barriers.

The image above is from the installation titled “Suavizando el gris urbano” or “Softening the Urban Gray” an urban intervention that encourages interaction. The eerie glow and shape of the shadowy figures make for an interesting feeling space. It’s fun and yet mysterious. The group discribes this installation as “bringing comfort to a public space, substituting the ever so common gray color, with a white, fluffy space where the inhabitants can play and relax, as if they were lying on a huge illuminated bed.” They envision this coming to life through a huge number of quilts which have lights inside to create a glow when the sun goes down. Similar to my previous post about the Stadt Lounge, this installation too would cover everything in site like trash cans, lights, benches, fountaions…this way everything would be softened.

Another drawing investigates the dream world created by shadows and the lack of this mysterious, diversity of shapes where these shadows have disappeared under the power of urban light fixtures which has lead to dead nighttime streetscapes.

Luzinterruptus proposes to “bring the shadows back to the city in order to convert the street into a mysterious and dreamlike place for a few days, where nothing is what it seems.” An artist will design the shadows, creating imaginary shapes like that of a bull for a bench and a tree for a light post.

“In the chosen alley, which will be completely dark, we will attach bulbs to the walls, 5 meters above the ground. These incandescent bulbs, of high wattage, will project their light at the walls and the ground of the chosen alley. Underneath the bulbs, there will be translucent silhouettes which will intercept the passage of the light, thus creating the invented shadows.”

“Thanks to this mechanism, of simple design, we will ensure that the street takes on an unexpected life full of characters which inhabit the walls and ground of the city. And all this without carrying out a large installation, without damaging either structures or infrastructure in the street.”

In St. Gallen, Switzerland there is a different kind of outdoor space…one that acts more like a comfortable indoor living room. Or perhaps the rec room of an artist. Designer Carlos Martines collaborated with artist Pipilotti Rist on this unique public plaza. The entire outdoor space has been blanketed in red for a plush and vibrant look that speaks more toward pedestrians that vehicles which adds to the warmth.

The red carpet flows through the space and over everything in its path including seating elements, water features, vehicles and walls. Curvacious benches and water features call out to passersby, encouraging them to sit and linger.

Even the areas designated for cars and bikes is artistic and bold and yet subtle at the same time. No confining lines, just a simple pattern in the shape of the object that should sit within. One of my favorite details.

Vehicles become play things…

Even drains get to take on a bit of color…

Even the lighting takes on an artistic, yet indoor feel. The orbs hang overhead helping to make the space feel even more intimate and pedestrian in scale.

images via thomas mayer

For those of you in the Seattle area, there are some great events coming up at the University of Washington as part of the multi-disciplinary, year long series – NOW Urbanism: City Making in the 21st Century and Beyond.

This months events on November 17th and 18th revolve around The Ecology of Cities. The public lecture on the 17th will feature Randolph T. Hester from the Landscape Architecture department of the University of California at Berkeley. His lecture is titled “Environmental Urbanism: Design with Ecological Democracy.”

Following on the 18th should be an interesting discussion featuring Randolph T. Hester from the previous lecture and joined by Chris Reed, principal of STOSS and Howard Frumkin, the Dean of the UW School of Public Health. The discussion is titled, “Environmental Urbanism: Ecological Design for Healthy Cities” and is explained further on the website,

“What does it mean to envision a healthy city – one that nurtures both people and the environment? Environmental Urbanism acknowledges and embraces the relationships between people and their material surroundings. This session will explicitly consider how the human processes of city making involve an ongoing negotiation with various non-human elements– soils, water, atmosphere, and animals. By considering the intended and unintended effects of urbanization, our goal is to better understand how and to what extent we can intentionally shape future urban landscapes.”

Future lectures include:
December 8: Networked Urbanisms: Connections & Communication Across Space and Time
December 9: America’s War on Immigrants
January 13: Informal Urbanims: Slum Cities and Gobal Health
February 11: Transcultural Urbanism: Immigrants In The City
March 10: Generosity of Cities: Arts, Humanities, And The City
April 7: Next Eco-Cities: Imaginations And Futures
April 8: Next Eco-City Symposium
May 5: Social Justice, Inquality And Cities
May 26: The University And The City