PARKhitecture

PARK(ing) Day originated in 2005 when Rebar, a San Francisco design group, converted a single metered car parking space into a temporary park. Since then PARK(ing) Day has expanded to cities all over the world, with the event always held on the third Friday of September. This year marks the 11th year of International PARK(ing) Day. PARK(ing) Day is supported by the Brisbane City Council and aims to inspire a more vibrant, creative and sociable city.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]In response to the COX design ethos – Structure, Craft, Art, Nature – a team from the Brisbane studio created “PARKhitecture” for Brisbane PARK(ing) Day. The studio’s allocated parking void was transformed into an architectural object, providing a space for passersby to share, gather, and learn. Kokedama workshops were run throughout the day on the integrated bench top and the people who participated were gifted their creations.

The installation is a prefabricated organic shaped structure generated from algorithms using Rhino and Grasshopper and made from recycled cardboard by Xanita. An interlocking cardboard stool was also designed to allow flexibility of space, and reconfigure as needed with the installation. Visy turned the design into flat-packed cardboard that was easily assembled by the team and is now used in the office. The plants used for the kokedama and decorations were provided by Mappins Nursery.

“PARKhitecture” was awarded the Brisbane City Council Judges’ Award for Best PARK, selected by a panel of judges based on how vibrant, creative and people-friendly they found the installation.

Special mentions must go to Ayo Akinola (in his first week at COX), Christina Cho, Alex Munoz, Jae Lim and Anya Meng for their massive effort in leading the team.