Gone are the days when public spaces and community centres meant parks, museums, and exhibition centres. The new generation challenges designers to examine the public space arena and to develop unique community spaces that enhance urban liveability. Community spaces are increasingly becoming hotspots that attract inhabitants during the development of a city. Innovation seems to be the keyword for the following 7 spaces that have transcended the traditional thinking of the perception of public space.

Nokha Village Community Centre, Rajasthan, India / Sanjay Puri Architects

The Padam Group’s project, a community centre in the desert, features a curvilinear volume, an inclined rooftop garden, a museum, and a digital library for children. The project was designed to create a memorial for the client’s father, Padmaramji Kularia. The building’s southern fa?ade is enveloped in a grass-covered earth berm, a strategic response to the harsh desert climate. The water used for the earth berm maintenance is harvested through borewells and is recycled from the owner’s house. The grass-covered roof reduces heat gain, keeping the inner spaces cool even when external temperatures exceed 40 degrees Celsius. The ovoid library is sheathed in natural sandstone screens, sourced from the surrounding area, to reduce heat gain and create different shadow patterns. The rooftop gardens, stone screens, north-facing courtyard, and southern grass berm collectively decrease heat gain, making the modern community hub energy-efficient.

Komera Leadership Centre, Rwanda / BE Design

Komera Leadership Centre, situated in Rwanda or the ?Land of 1000 Hills?, derives its inspiration from the Rwandan Imigongo art resulting in a community space with geometric and angular roofs zig-zagging to reflect the topography of Rwanda. The structure is built in clusters around a flexible space or its ?heart? to provide spaces for health, education and mentorship programs to young women and community gathering places. When the program requirements for the building exceeded the budget allowed, the designers created a large gathering hall with translucent panels that could be used to subdivide the space to accommodate different classrooms. The form of the structure includes a triangular roof structure supported by wooden planks which created high windows between rooms. The exterior envelope consists of herringbone brick walls and woven eucalyptus screens. Administrative, medical, and counselling areas face west, while a separate kitchen and dining area with a composting toilet block next to it faces east.

Highline Park, New York, USA/ James Corner Field Operations, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Piet Oudolfs

The Highline Park is an elevated linear park, built on the abandoned and former New York Central Railroad on the west side of Manhattan in New York City.  According to the architects, the park combines architecture and agriculture to rejuvenate the abandoned railroad into one of the highly talked about creative community centers. The park consists of hard textures like paving and soft textures like various vegetation assembled onto its 1.5-mile trail. The pavement is pre-cast concrete planks laid individually with open joints which promote emergent growth through sidewalk crevices similar to wild grass. The public can meander through the textured, “pathless” landscape created by the long pavement pieces with tapered ends that comb into planting areas in an unplanned manner.

Urban Bloom, Shanghai, China / AIM Architecture + URBAN MATTERS

Urban Bloom is an experimental urban space designed to prioritize freedom and joy over design intentions or infrastructure needs. Originally a parking lot, it was transformed into an ideal urban garden, constructed entirely from artificial means. The project, located on Anfu Road, combines a residential compound with offices, restaurants, shops, and schools, proving that cities can create a new life without flattening the old one. The space is designed to be low-impact, interacting with natural elements artificially, and proving that something new can be made from nothing new. Urban Bloom is an urban community innovation that is entirely sustainable, relying on repurposed and recycled materials. It serves as an impermanent fixture on the city landscape, reminding us of the importance of enjoying urban space and serving as the physical manifestation of a new kind of urbanity.

Co-working utopic_US Conde de Casal, Madrid, Spain / Izaskun Chinchilla Architects

UTOPIC_US Conde de Casal is a young and creative coworking space inspired by New York and Tokyo, two iconic cities that inspire creativity and innovation. The space aims to strengthen the link between design and user through interaction and surprise. As part of a network of coworking spaces, UTOPIC_US aims to become the headquarters for the younger generation, turning Madrid into the capital of creative entrepreneurship. The interior design project features versatile equipment, transforming industrial and contemporary furniture into one of the best co-working spaces worldwide, and incorporating colour and fabrics to inspire users. The goal is to transform everything around them into something unexpected, showcasing the importance of networking and creativity in urban lifestyles.

Subterranean Ruins, Bengaluru, India / A Threshold

Kaggalipura, a small village 40 km from Bengaluru city, transformed the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two philanthropists, Bhaskar and Kiran Mai, designed a multifunctional place on their farmland, incorporating multifunctional caves to blend with the existing terrain. Avinash Ankalge and Harshith Nayak, principal architects at Bengaluru-based A Threshold, initiated the project during a challenging time when workers were scarce. The building features multifunctional caves that blend with the natural terrain, taking advantage of a steep four-meter drop followed by flat land. The design approach ensured the building became an intrinsic part of nature, rooted in its context and the use of locally available materials, labourers, and technology. The project also allowed the team to interact with artisans, potters, and sculptors, creating a sense of belonging and promoting knowledge hubs.

Metropol Parasol, Sevilla, Spain / J. Mayer H + A

The destruction of Mercado de la Encarnacion in Seville left a significant void in the city centre, causing a decline in the vitality of the Plaza de la Encarnacion. In 2011, J?rgen Mayer H and Arup partnered to create Metropol Parasol, a contemporary solution for Seville’s central square. This massive timber structure, one of the largest in the world, offers a variety of markets and restaurants surrounded by dynamic parasols. The Metropol Parasol is one of the largest timber structures built in the world, attracting residents and visitors to the city centre. The design team’s ability to look towards the future allows Seville to preserve its historic cultural prowess while preserving its future greatness.

Sources

• https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/a-virtual-tour-of-four-interactive-community-spaces-in-india/article67957785.ece
• https://www.dezeen.com/2023/08/04/be-design-angular-woven-screens-komera-leadership-centre-rwanda/
• https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/rtf-fresh-perspectives/a1062-10-sustainable-and-innovative-public-spaces-around-the-world
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Line
• https://dsrny.com/project/the-high-line
• https://www.archdaily.com/891819/urban-bloom-aim-architecture-plus-urban-matters
• https://www.archdaily.com/794909/co-working-utopic-us-conde-de-casal-izaskun-chinchilla-architects
• https://www.archdaily.com/201961/metropol-parasol-j-mayer-h-arup