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Engaging Public Space Architecture Uniting its Site with the City and its People

Sashi, Tippu

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2011, MARCH, University of Cincinnati, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture.

ar•chi•tec•ture(är-k?-tek-ch?r) n. [OFr. <Lat. architectura <architectus, architect.] the art and science of designing and erecting buildings

Architecture is not solely about buildings. Builders do buildings. Architects create spaces. Architecture is a never-ending process of experimentation that seeks to creatively address multiple issues in our environment. The search for ways to represent, shape, and define spaces motivates architects to develop better designs. Without this, the creative approach is lost and architecture will be reduced to mere buildings.

In many contemporary urban centers, public spaces provide places of relief in the dense urban environment. Although the design of particular edifices and districts may be intriguing and successful, they quite often do little to inspire or activate spaces beyond the boundary of the building. Thinking beyond the façade and creating spaces that become an extension of the interior space can help establish a mediator between different types of space. These public spaces present opportunities to connect disparate and sometimes segregated areas of a city. Such unique spaces become thresholds that can serve as transition spaces to facilitate movement and free flow of people within the static and permanent environment.

Studying how art centers have created universal and neutral spaces through the white “wallpapering” of interiors suggests that these spaces facilitate display but fail to adequately develop an experiential relationship between the art and the public. The sterile white box has created a sense of estrangement rather than involvement for the general public. It is important that contemporary art be displayed in inviting contexts that facilitate relationships between the art and viewer by creating engaging and interactive architectural spaces. The goal of this thesis is to examine how museums and other public buildings can develop interior and exterior spaces by creating an architecture that brings together the site, city, and community.

Architecture can become a mediator that breaks down the barrier between the public and city life using the landscape as the instrument for people to connect and become participatory occupants of the space. Design should not be constricted to particular social settings, but allow people to develop an idiosyncratic perspective by interacting with the site and context. Public spaces are defining features of a city that at their best encourage spontaneous interactions and cross-cultural exchanges. They serve as great forums for events, explorations, and discussion for the inhabitants of a city. Cincinnati is a city that can benefit from creating a significant community space to serve as a catalyst for new experiences and relationships between art, architecture, and city life.

Aarati Kanekar, PhD (Committee Chair)
Michael McInturf, MARCH (Committee Chair)
89 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Sashi, T. (2011). Engaging Public Space Architecture Uniting its Site with the City and its People [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1306503083

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Sashi, Tippu. Engaging Public Space Architecture Uniting its Site with the City and its People. 2011. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1306503083.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Sashi, Tippu. "Engaging Public Space Architecture Uniting its Site with the City and its People." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1306503083

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)