Rethinking the Greek agora: interior design and the practice of everyday public space

Abstract

The objective of this practicum project was to explore the role of interior design in transforming unused urban space into public opportunities for gathering. This was achieved by extracting design guidelines from theoretical concepts of space and place, interiority, and immersion. In doing so, subsidiary concepts of interactivity, placemaking, boundaries and thresholds were also examined in order to help achieve the overall goal of transforming in-between space within the city of Winnipeg into meaningful opportunities for spatial and social interaction. It is the intention of the project that these newly designed spaces will help to foster spatial opportunities for pausing that will help to engage the users of the space with one another, the city of Winnipeg, and in turn create a sense of place.