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| dc.contributor.author | Getliffe, Rachel | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2021-04-26T15:32:43Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2021-04-26T15:32:43Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2021-04-26 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10429/2147 | |
| dc.description | The purpose of this investigation is to expand the knowledge on the spectrum of architectural practice in the realm of public space design to build on the understanding of the impact of public space projects. The beginning half of this thesis deals with grounding existing knowledge and defining concepts such as theories of power, authority, placemaking, and ownership. Defining public space is often difficult because of legal implications and property ownership. Public space in its simplest form can be defined as gathering space, such as a park, plaza, or indoor space that is open to all in the public domain. Since the late 60s and 70s, towards greater involvement of public participation in the process of design especially regarding public space. This is the idea that architecture and urban planning slowly began to move to a larger movement towards greater inclusion as societal ideologies shifted and civil rights were granted to traditionally marginalized voices. The mass protesting of the late 60s and 70s led to many voices and perspectives being heard for the first time in public planning. Much of the discussion of equitable public space discussions started with Jane Jacob’s opposition to the way the exclusion of New York City’s community members from planning initiatives in the 1960s. During 1960, many fought to raise awareness and bring greater justice and equality for all which resulted in civil legislation. In 1964, Lyndon B Johnson signed The Civil Rights Act (Civil Rights Act 1964). It protected black Americans and other minorities from discrimination and injustice. This caused an intersection of design and ethics during the 1960s. This public ideology shift opened the design process towards increased public engagement in the process and unintentionally causing increased complexities for designers. The field of design is striving to reach a larger equitable process within this process new questions start to emerge such as how do designers navigate the newfound complexities? There are many questions that this thesis will attempt to approach such as: how do we understand the power structures and the place/role of the architect in those power structures in the design of public spaces? Who has the right to make decisions about project goals? How much influence is the designer exerting on the public space? The goal of this thesis investigation is to identify and challenge traditional power structures found within public space projects. The role of the designer has changed with more complex processes that cities must carry out. The community’s greater role in involvement in a project leaves the designer in a newly defined role. One method employed to gain a greater understanding of this subject consisted of a survey that seeks participants from various design and non-design backgrounds. The second half of the thesis depicts in-depth case studies conducted at three different scales on the use of public space in the newly finished projects of ‘The Mack Lot’ in Detroit, Michigan, ‘Dundas Place Streetscape’ in London, Ontario, Canada, and ‘The High Line’ in New York, New York. Through interviews with members involved heavily in the design processes and outside supplemental research has been completed to show a complete visual mapping of power. The results led to a greater understanding of the outside constraints that designers must stay within. Among all three projects, the designer’s held much of the power on the phase of detail design while made very few decisions during the phases of concept design. The projects were influenced by the type of initiation and the source of funding. The source of funding for a public space project often determines the power dynamic for the designer. This thesis concluding with larger implications and question such as how does the source of funding affects the role of the designer in a project? It also concludes with some an open-ended questions such as if public-private partnerships are the way to precede future projects or do they further private corporate interests? Or Should space open to the public be publicly owned or can public space thrive under private ownership? | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | This research focuses on an exploration into the complexities of public design and power between the designer and outside constraints that define a public project. This thesis attempts to answer the question of what ratio of power each actor of the design process should possess to set up a successful project. In-depth case studies were conducted to analyze the shifting roles of the architect in both historic and modern projects at various scales. Case studies explored the actors of the projects at pocket park scale, and urban street scale and a larger city-wide scale. Theories of power, authority, placemaking, and ownership are approached and referenced to inform the larger argument. The emerging findings of the study were to understand that scale does not inherently affect the designer’s role. The role of the designer is undefined at the beginning design stages, hyper defined in the middle of the design phases and undefined at the end stages. The designer holds the clearest power during the center of the design process. | en_US |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.title | The Path of Power Within Public Design | en_US |
| dc.title.alternative | The Designer’s Relation to Power Within the Realm of Public Space | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
