Enhancing Urban Rooms. Experimental Design Practices in the Project of Public Space

Among the phenomena characterising architectural research and practice at the turn of the XXIst century, the raise of interest and engagement on the design of urban spaces can be detected as a pivotal step in the evolution and the effectiveness of Interior Design tools and strategies, especially in responding to the challenges posed by contemporary cities. By analysing a wide array of recent experiences, the text intends to highlight the development of a profoundly experimental approach to the enhancement of squares, streets and parks, which operates on the improvement of their quality as inhabited places not only in terms of accessibility, safety and comfort, but also recognisability, spatial orientation, imageability, social and cultural attractiveness. The transformation of the traditional practices, instruments, technologies and materials historically related to the design of public spaces, as well as the coalition with art languages, the integration of non-architectural means and the inclusion of inter-disciplinary strategies, are contextualised within the evolutionary dynamics of European cities, and depicted through the outline of the most preeminent or promising trends in the potentiation of the spatial experience of contemporary urban rooms.