Hosang Park's 'A Square'

From Seoul, South Korea, Hosang Park's photographic series A Square articulates how public spaces blend in with urban living environments.

PublicART: Watertable

Saw this in the Globe and Mail yesterday but didn't get around to posting it.

Photo: Ryan Enn Hughes for The Globe and Mail

Watertable is a new media sculpture that uses the architecture of the Gardiner Expressway to echo the natural condition of the site when it marked the water’s edge in the early days of the city’s history.

Winners of the 2005 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts, Lisa Steele and Kim Tomczak developed Watertable as part of an International open competition held in 2007.

Watertable is a lighting and audio installation that will create the look and sound of moving water: undulating LED lights accompanied by the sound of lake waves will respond to current wind conditions at the site. This will be the first new media artwork in the City of Toronto’s permanent Public Art Collection.

Watertable was unvieled on October 21st, 2009 and not only creates a landmark underneath the cold ruins of the Gardiner, but also connects the city with the waterfront. It isn't in a very human-scale (see above photo) but for a space like this, if it wasn't larger than life, then the space would lose its atmospheric essence for even those in cars passing by.

For a site which has had the reputation to be relatively grey and dominated by the automobile, this is a step in the right direction for all the underutilized public space found beneath the Gardiner. Let's hope this trend continues.

Janette Sadik-Khan speaks at the Canadian Urban Institute

New public plaza, formerly a parking lot (Photo: New York City Department of Transportation)

Going through my Spacing Radio podcasts during my commute to school, I heard an interesting and inspiring speech from Janette Sadik-Khan, New York City's Commissioner of Transportation. She was in Toronto earlier this year to speak about the transformation of her City's public space.

She outlines her progressive plan which contributes to the convenience and safety of citizens, while creating a sense of place. The plan aims at making a more people-focused New York - even if it means taking space away from cars.

Listen here.

More reading material found at the New York City DOT