Being inspired by the book “Invisible Cities”, our concept is trying to redefine the form of open space in a metaphorical way. Selecting campus as the site, an invisible plaza is created by re-organizing the spatial prototypes.
Third Award | RTFA 2017 Awards
Category: Urban Design (Concept)
Participant  Name: YU-ROU LI
Country: Taiwan

Invisible Plaza - a Metaphor of Public Space in Campus (1)
Invisible Plaza – a Metaphor of Public Space in Campus (1)

One of the characteristics of traditional public space is enclosure, therefore, this design takes advantage of different materials and irregular elements to re-organize the open space of campus. The ideas of the metaphorical method aim at eliminating the traditional hard boundaries, raising openness, visibility and ambiguity of the space.

Invisible Plaza - a Metaphor of Public Space in Campus (2)
Invisible Plaza – a Metaphor of Public Space in Campus (2)

There are three elements of traditional open space, mentioned by Camillo Sitte:

  1. Enclosure boundary (hard space)
  2. Public activities (function of open space)
  3. Arrangement of perspective (urban scenery effect)

In our design strategy, the public open space is expressed by a metaphorical method. Transparence and openness of the space could be realized through visual penetration and overlap of layout.

Invisible Plaza - a Metaphor of Public Space in Campus (3)
Invisible Plaza – a Metaphor of Public Space in Campus (3)

To express the three elements of traditional open space, we try to realize a free and invisible public open space by changing materials and reorganizing different elements. Metaphorical expression in physical form gives our public space more “signifié” values: transparence, openness, penetration, ambiguity and overlap.

Invisible Plaza - a Metaphor of Public Space in Campus (4)
Invisible Plaza – a Metaphor of Public Space in Campus (4)

– Using irregular and transparent materials to define the hard interface for the reason of obscuring the traditional boundary
– Providing function of activity by using different elements
– Combining the facade of building with the perspective of campus
– Integrating the elements into the surroundings

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