Mindful Metropolis : Transforming lost space to promote the well-being of transient urban users in Hatfield

Abstract

Transforming lost space to promote the well-being of transient urban users With the rise in urbanisation and the consequent creation of lost space, urban users have experienced a detachment from their urban fabric. This detachment has caused the user to suffer from a diminishing well-being due to a lack of public space and therefore a lack in sense of place and belonging. It is important to consider the urban user’s wellbeing as it constitutes the happiness, health and wellness of the individual and larger community. On the positive side, there is the existence and opportunity of loose space which is a fluid realm that is activated by human input, and hosts interaction and a sense of place. The architectural opportunity is to foster the relationship between loose and lost space by allowing loose space to infiltrate and consequently activate lost space. This may be done within a space that serves the transient urban user such as a transit oriented public space. The research intention is thus to investigate lost space as well as the loose space accommodating them. The methodology is based in Roger Trancik’s Figure Ground, Linkage and Place Theories. First, lost spaces were identified through desktop mapping of the existing. Then, commonalities were found by data layering. And lastly, site narrative, conditions and user needs were observed through on-site quantitative and qualitative documentation. The intervention aims to address the disparity that exists in the perception of lost spaces; there is the functionalist view that deems these spaces inefficient and undesirable. Then, there is the perspective that these spaces are activated by human input to create transient yet lively loose space. The intention is therefore to create a public space that is articulated by loose space to ultimately instil well-being.