Capitalism Is Alive & Well?

Our everyday urban spaces are purposed for a variety of activities and users.  Commerce, sitting, birds, sculpture, transportation, plants and people are just some of the components on display at the plaza at the southwest corner of 2^nd Ave and Spring St in downtown Seattle.  

On a recent cold, weekday holiday afternoon, activity was confined primarily to the plaza’s periphery: coffee drinkers clustered around a table, commuters waiting at street’s edge for their bus, or, for some unlucky souls, dozens of stories above the plaza, busily typing away in their cubicles and lamenting their not getting the day off. 

While the plaza was essentially barren at least in some part due to the temperature, it was still rich in commentary on the urban experience.  The stark juxtaposition of the space’s private-public nature through bold signage was what immediately drew us in.  While tempting to blame the space’s desolation entirely on temperature, one could argue that blatant mixing of messages to LINGER! and BUY STUFF! may in fact be confusing and off-putting to users, leading them elsewhere to relax where the pressure to consume is reduced.

Upon further examination we discovered just how much the adjacent businesses have dictated the character of the space.  Tables are only large enough to accommodate conversation punctuated by a sandwich or a few coffees.  It is difficult to imagine this plaza being the site of a picnic lunch or barbeque because of the furniture’s limitations.  Similarly, the variety of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants in attractive containers pay homage to the chic flower shop located at the plaza’s south edge.

Our evaluation of the sharing of public and private interests within a single space would be more complete if we were to investigate again in more amenable weather.  Perhaps then the space would be transformed and fully active, but at this moment in time, the shared space seems superfluous.  

- James Day & Graham Golbuff

A Bifurcated Dichotomy

Ian Garnier, Patrick Pirtle, Joel Miller

Downtown Seattle encompasses the intermixing of residents and visitors. From Western Avenue through Belltown and beyond, the role of visitor and resident interchange between those who feel they belong, and the visitor passing through. Our groups' observations were taken over several afternoons downtown, from the waterfront to Interstate 5, and found several instances of the resident/visitor paradigm. First, homeless population in Seattle takes on both the role of resident and visitor. Among the posh developments of Belltown, the homeless are made to feel like visitors,
kept on the move through unfriendly design elements. At the same time, they display their "residency" by inhabiting the space that visitors do not, such as under the Viaduct and along the waterfront. Second, businesses that cater to tourism welcome visitors as residents, providing incentives for these visitors to stay such as dedicated parking in downtown. By doing this, it shows residents to move along, much like the design elements do to those hoping to linger in Belltown. Likewise, signs of downtown reflect this sentiment. Wayfinding assistance is given to those unfamiliar with the City’s layout. This assistance conceals the City’s attitude towards its residents, who are treated as visitors, prohibited from all but moving along its sidewalks. Visitors see the City through new eyes; exploring and capturing the sites residents take for granted. The final and most interesting notion of the resident/visitor relationship is local advertisements directed at the residents. These signs beckon residents to become the visitor, experiencing those new areas with new eyes while moving in, throughout, and back home again.

The Urban Gallery

On Sunday, January 20th we examined the process of privatization within the public spheres of the famous streets of the most touristic hotspot of the city, Pike Place Market. Our focus was centered on the unspoken private “businesses” of those individuals that shape our experience at the market, rather than the authorized shops and restaurants that only attract attention behind closed doors. The concept of designing an experience into a space as opposed to designing a space to match a certain experience, is greatly evident in the streets of downtown Seattle. Throughout our walkthrough we found it fascinating the utilization of street space by lower classmen and their positive impacts on the experiences that are designed into an area. Not only how they are purposely designed, but how they evolve organically. Among the arts we found were street performers, three-dimensional Sculptures, both approved and unapproved, and works that arise from the many hands, like the graffiti walls and the infamous gum wall. The streets became a stage for the performers, while the walls became a gallery all emphasizing the beauty behind the shared city.

Sculptures such as the Tree of Life and the Market Foundation Piggy Bank were public works constructed as art pieces for the city and its citizens. Both of these works were paid for in donation from private entities. As private businesses attempt to become more involved in communities, they simultaneously help pay for public works. Repetitive private advertising found throughout the community satisfies both the private sector and meets the public’s needs. On the other hand, the blurred boundary is found in organically formed art, in the form of street artists and street.

~Jake Mellinger, Nick Durig, and Yair Cohenca