Warm Hands, Warm Hearts

Oct 1

Redesigning streets to create a cozy outdoor experience

By: Jiya Benni and Jonathan Woodside

The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a flashlight on our society’s vulnerabilities and biases. We have learned what is most essential and found the value of spaces close to home. As society continues to grapple with re-opening, even as this virus continues to stay with us, we are tasked with translating the rich spectrum of activities in our lives to function in outdoor settings. It has never been more important than today to find ways to adapt our public spaces to the work and play we need to support dignified livelihoods.

The design draws inspiration from temporary events that reclaim our streets, woonerfs that mix street life and automobiles while prioritizing pedestrians, and traditional palisade walls that historically were used in part to create comfortable climates for public spaces. The design slows car dominance by pushing a flexible public space into the roadway and by prioritizing the experience of the site through microclimate design. The street is re-furnished with nested furniture instead of cars to support diverse activities such as meetings, workshops, recreation, or even socially distanced lined-up. Using a custom-built windbreak that protects the site from the hard cold winds of winter, the microclimate of the site is controlled.

Details:

Budget: The design has an estimated budget of $31,320.

Materials and Fabrication: The design has four main components - a wooden deck, planters, windbreaks, and nested furniture. The wooden deck can be constructed using treated lumber. All planters are to be built in-place from cedar. alternative materials may be substituted to suit the character of the street. The windbreaks are custom designs composed of aluminium tubes fit into and fastened onto a tempered steel base. Shop drawings to be approved by a civil engineer for stability during storm events. The last component of the design is the nested furniture which is built from cedar wood. Windbreak - Aluminium tubes of 10 cm diameter are fitted onto the top of a tempered steel base and attached to bottom by a flange. Installed in three layers mixed with shrub and tree plantings. Set onto the roadway directly in a wood planter built in place. Drainage to be protected with filter fabric.

Installation and Other Services: Engage local businesses to provide laundered blankets for use in this space. The furniture, patio heaters, lights and blankets used in this space should be monitored by a local community group or a BIA.