2 PUBLIC SPACES

Atlanta, GA: 1994

Site A: Alternate Routes
Public space and urban space, virtually synonyms in historic cities, have diverged. No longer a destination, urban space has become the experience of being in between locations. This project proposes to enrich the experience of the pedestrian's, driver's, and rail passenger's daily voyage. The space Atlantans pass through on their way to dinner, work, school or MARTA becomes for a moment a destination in itself. Memories of places outside the city help create memorable places for Atlanta.

A driver turning onto Central Avenue encounters a tunnel. Upon entering, (s)he is spatially transported: continuous video projections animate both sides of the tunnel, creating a seamless environment representing an alternate landscape that changes each day. On Tuesday one might drive through an allee of laurels in Provence, on Saturday through the sands of the Sahara. Meanwhile, the curved plane defining the northbound lanes of Central Avenue and the screen facing the adjacent parking lot to the west at night expand the virtual landscape for pedestrians and drivers alike. The projected images along Central Avenue are of the earthbound variety, announcing various happenings in the city. The parking lot wall becomes the site of a celestial theatre with images of alternative weathers and other heavenly occurrences. During the day the plane and screen define the edges of the spaces adjacent to the project. The pedestrian path between and behind these two screens enhances the pedestrian's experience through choice: whether to take a route along Decatur Street and browse at the international newsstand; to have lunch on the steps rising from Decatur Street; or to simply take a shortcut and continue on his/her way.

Site B: Parking Fields
The new American city of the fax machine, e-mail, and airport terminals is a city of points, autonomous and disconnected from one another. Parking lots have become one of the most identifiable symptoms of these conditions. They are the dreaded in between spaces, undifferentiated collections of coordinates at which we leave our cars on the way to indoor sites of exchange. In this project, the neutral grid of the parking lot is differentiated and enlivened by weaving automobile storage with the other practices of daily life: banking, snacking, buying a newspaper. The operational logic of this scheme produces a weave which ultimately serves as an analog of the culture of communication.

One parks in east-west oriented aisles lined by low "hedgerows" which edge walkways against which the parking spaces are lined. Each is of a different plant material, These cross with a series of north-south pedestrian paths, alternatively shaded by metal canopies or trees. Together the north-south and east-west running routes serve as a wayfinding system wherein each unique pairing of hedgerow and canopy types serve as x and y coordinates to assist stadium visitors in noting the specific location of their parking space in order to more easily find it upon their return. Rising from and marking these nodes are ninety-foot high columns. Seen as a group, they constitute a modern-day hypostyle porch for the Geogia Dome behind at a scale that is comparable to it. At their bases are quasi-public spaces which provide amenities related to spectacles taking place in the stadium: picnic areas for the inevitable tailgate party, ATMs, electronic ticket dispensers, and vending machines. Above, the wood-frame towers are clad with fiberglass panels that at night become projection surfaces. Inside each, a video projector is programmed to move along a specific path, creating images which ascend, spin and disappear from the translucent surfaces. Because the site is used in connection with the Georgia Dome, these video figures will be tied to individual sports: monumentally-sized athletes will jump, spin and fly through the night. The installation could similarly be changed to refer to specific events at the Georgia Dome or to coincide with upcoming events in the city at large.

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