How to Bring Comfort and Warmth to the Design of Public Spaces?

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Public spaces, whether indoors or outdoors, public or private, are characterized as places for encounters, opportunities, and exchanges of ideas or goods, and ultimately, they are a key part of a city's identity. However, with the rise of the internet and social networks, many of these functions have migrated to the virtual environment or lost some of their relevance. In addition, we experienced a setback in in-person relationships during the long period of isolation that accompanied the pandemic. Faced with these challenges, architects are confronted with the fundamental question of how to revitalize these crucial spaces for society, while understanding their vital importance. Can design be the key to reviving public spaces? How can we make places that are both everyone's and no one's truly comfortable?

The architecture firm Johnston Architects (JA), based in Seattle, USA, has been striving to implement this change in collective spaces by incorporating comfortable traditional elements from single-family homes and hospitality spaces into the realm of public projects and mixed-use spaces. This transformation is a response to the evolving ways in which we connect and collaborate. The goal is clear: to make public spaces more inviting, community-oriented, and, why not, more like "homes." We spoke with Lina Baker, an NCIDQ-certified Associate at JA and interior designer, who shared her insights on how her office breathes life into these transformations and important considerations for designers.

As designers, we can easily forget that our homes come together organically, gradually over time. We acquire a sideboard here, a piece of art there, a lamp here, an area rug there—this piecemeal method results in spaces that feel lived-in and unique. We each also create our homes within the context of our own identities, which is a luxury that public-facing design does not allow us. When we design public spaces, we should be continually asking ourselves how to create some of the bespoke feeling of a curated home, rather than using the more typical "matching" scheme that offices and libraries of the past have used.

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Cite: Souza, Eduardo. "How to Bring Comfort and Warmth to the Design of Public Spaces?" [Como trazer conforto e acolhimento ao projeto de ambientes coletivos?] 18 Jan 2024. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1012247/how-to-bring-comfort-and-warmth-to-the-design-of-public-spaces> ISSN 0719-8884

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