Category Archives: Aesthetics

Art or Bike Parking?

OpenCity Projects | Categories: May 16, 2012 By OpenCity Projects

Planned art installation? Spontaneous intervention? New bike parking? We’re not sure what the inspiration was for these bikes playfully hanging from a tree in Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods Park but it definitely got our attention. We love these unexpected and creative … Read More

Posted in Aesthetics, Identity, Toronto | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Hidden Park: Zurich’s Best Kept Secret

Wendy Gold | Categories: May 9, 2012 By Wendy Gold

The Lidenhof Quarter in Zurich’s Old Town has a medieval feel with narrow passages, squares and fountains. I love the old-world charm I’ve come to expect from European cities, and envy the few who live in contemporary apartments amid beauty … Read More

Posted in Accessibility, Aesthetics, Lyon, Uncategorized, Zurich | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Aesthetics of Juxtaposition

Jake Tobin Garrett | Categories: April 25, 2012 By Jake Tobin Garrett

As the days begin to get warmer, I am looking forward to spending some time at Sugar Beach, one of the newer waterfront public spaces that is part of Waterfront Toronto’s ambitious revitalization of the Toronto’s shoreline. The beach owes … Read More

Posted in Aesthetics, Identity, New York, Toronto | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Space98: A Vancouver Bus Shelter Turned Message Board

Guest Author | Categories: April 17, 2012 By Guest Author

By Brandon Yan This space on Granville Street near Broadway used to be a bus shelter for Translink’s 98 B-Line, a rapid bus system from Vancouver to Richmond that became extinct with the completion of the Canada Line. Since September of 2009, this sad … Read More

Posted in Aesthetics, Identity, Social Cohesion, Vancouver | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

A New York City Hidden Gem

Wendy Gold | Categories: April 11, 2012 By Wendy Gold

At the corner of Hudson and Grove Streets in New York’s Greenwich Village, just steps from where Jane Jacobs lived, a brick wall goes unnoticed beside the neighbourhood’s Federal style brownstones. With the crush of traffic on Hudson 24/7, it’s … Read More

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Frank Gehry’s Indoor Public Space for the Signature Theater

Jill Slater | Categories: March 21, 2012 By Jill Slater

The Signature Theater has relocated to a Frank Gehry-designed 70,000 square foot space just west of Times Square after over 25 years in a small theater in downtown Manhattan. Unsurprisingly, Gehry has manifested a vibrant and dynamic space. What is … Read More

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Planter Personalities

Jake Tobin Garrett | Categories: March 14, 2012 By Jake Tobin Garrett

Walking around New York this past summer, I began to notice something as I moved from neighbourhood to neighbourhood. On each street, at regular intervals, street trees protruded from well-tended and uniquely-designed mini gardens. Each of these trees had their … Read More

Posted in Accessibility, Aesthetics, Identity, New York, Toronto | 1 Comment

The Beauty of Getting Lost in Tokyo

Guest Author | Categories: March 7, 2012 By Guest Author

[Editor's note: This article is a reader response to a piece we published in December on experiencing the city through its street patterns.] During my 9 years living in Tokyo, I became quite the pedestrian wanderer. Its densely distributed streets … Read More

Posted in Aesthetics, Identity, Tokyo | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Winter Warmth

Jordy Gold | Categories: February 22, 2012 By Jordy Gold

This is our first story in a short series on activating public space in the winter. Weather impacts who Canadians are as a people and greatly influences when and how we choose to go outside and spend time in public … Read More

Posted in Aesthetics, Identity, Social Cohesion, Toronto | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Green Wall Blooms in Paris

Wendy Gold | Categories: February 8, 2012 By Wendy Gold

The architecture is so overwhelmingly beautiful in Paris that public spaces are often overlooked. This flowering wall stands out in Square Paul Langevin by creating a colourful backdrop for a small and simple neighbourhood park.

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