Civic waterfront: recipricol gestures enabling a spectrum of civic connections

Abstract

The last decade has seen our lives hybridized with digital media. Digital technologies are no longer constricted to our home PC's but are now making their way into every aspect of private and public life. Pliable and responsive digital environments constitute specific new types of structures that raise the haptic and intuitive threshold of public and private spaces by harnessing physical and mental processes. Bullivant, L, A and D, 4D Space Interactive Architecture This thesis is a record of the process that I have undergone coming to grips with the difficulties of designing public space that integrates digitally controlled environments. Initially this thesis set out to investigate techniques of incorporating wireless networks into Civic Square and the potential that these networks have to further enhance public interaction with the square and its surrounding context. Several explorations later it became clear to me that the crux of designing digitally controlled environments did not lie in the physical manifestation of the networks, but rather in the deciding of when, and where it was necessary and appropriate to create a digitally controlled environment. As the novelty of technology continues to wear off, it is the subtlety, communicative, and pragmatic aspects of the digital experience that will be valued. The design outcome from this thesis challenges the existing design of Civic Square and reinterprets the Civic realm as an innovative, interactive, challenging public space. The design focuses on creating a hybrid environment whereby sensors, screens, and dynamic structures respond to the user's presence and engages them on a variety of scales. The design is not reliant on the technology to be an interesting and successful space but utilizes the technology as a layer of complexity. People value connection; connection to space, identity, and each other. Civic squares in essence are about the people of a city, so it is imperative that Civic Square in Wellington creates connections on a human and city scale. Digital environments offer a new approach to creating these connections.