Student design elevates pedestrian experience

SAPL students Christopher Green and Rahman Ismail (MArch'20 candidates) were recently named runners-up in a competition sponsored by UNI, Elevate: Bringing urban spaces to life. PROP, Green and Ismail’s entry, considers the discomfort and inconvenience of a regular and constant fixture in cities all around the world: scaffolding.

Viewed as an obstacle and eyesore for pedestrians moving along sidewalks, scaffolding is perceived as something to be endured or avoided. In considering the competition’s brief: to take poorly performing public spaces and turn them into places where people can reconnect with their surroundings, Green and Ismail settled on reimagining scaffolding. 

The design makes use of a playful lighting fixture and translucent canvas to revitalize spaces with colour and shadows. Playing to the advantages of scaffolding as the structural system, a universal framework can be created where the installation becomes transferable and deployable.

Described as an ‘intervention’, Green and Rahman want users to engage with their imaginations and socialize with their surroundings, with or without social media.