On Friday, September 21 I spent part of my day roaming
through Philadelphia checking out many of the Park(ing) Day creations.
Park(ing) Day was first created in San Francisco where parking spaces were
converted into temporary one-day parks. It has since spread to many major
cities around the world. As I travelled around Philadelphia I had a chance to
stop at many of the parks. Most of them fell into a standard format; hay bales
or trees used to form a barricade to separate traffic from the park long with shrubs
and/or shrubs. In some cases grass, gravel or wood chips was used to cover the
pavement.
There was one stand out park created by Groundswell Design Group; they
repurposed a parking space using an ordinary item to create an extraordinary
experience. They took a standard steel shipping container cleaned it, repainted
the interior and the exterior, planted a green roof on top of it using wild
flowers, and hung works of art by a local artist. Creating a mini portable art
gallery; complete with interior lighting and two benches so you could sit and
enjoy them.
The Groundswell Design Group unique design made it visible
from a distance, but left you asking yourself what it was so you needed to see
it. With both ends open it allowed for plenty of natural light and air
circulation. And at the same time the container blocked out the noise and
exhaust from the street.
I would like to put forward a challenge to the planners and
the 2013 participants. Plan something that is more than a park. How about the
Temple or University of Pennsylvania theatre departments doing 5 minute
abridged performances of great plays, area dance companies could create multiple
short performance pieces to be choreographed to fit into a parking space. Or
how about the local Burning Man group, Videogasm,
creating a truly unique structure.
