Copenhagen is widely considered one of the world’s most livable cities, but it wasn’t always this way. Best in the World offers a closer look at the Danish capital’s journey from an industrial city on the brink of bankruptcy to the transformed Copenhagen of today. Celebrated writer and filmmaker Hans Christian Post takes stock of the cost of this transformation, examining inequity within the city’s borders and in the surrounding countryside.
Building neighbourhood-level interventions + retrofits for climate emergencies.
What can we design to protect each other from smoke, fires, extreme heat and cold, flooding, earthquakes, and other environmental emergencies and climate events?
What might neighbourhood-level climate response planning and action look like?
Why are the only play spaces in the city for kids?
Research has shown that the benefits of play are not limited to children. Adult play can relieve stress, improve overall well-being, nurture critical thinking and benefit our relationships. Despite the many benefits, it’s hard to find examples of adult play spaces in the city outside of the standard sports fields, pickleball courts, and ping pong tables.
What kinds of play are there, what dimensions of design can help facilitate play, and how can cities provide more opportunities for play for adults?
RE/CREATION: FROM AQUATIC CENTRE TO AQUATIC COMMUNITIES
From Damnoen Saduak in Thailand, to Siring in Indonesia, to Cai Rang Market in Vietnam, floating markets have existed for millennia and can be found across the world.
In this studio, we imagined the possibilities for floating markets in the Vancouver region to answer questions like what would it mean to use the water and docks for more than just moorage? How might they connect to the 28 km seawall, aquabus transit systems, and rivers? What might floating structures look like as sea levels rise?
The Granville Bridge is the main way to connect from downtown Vancouver to Granville Island. While the bridge spans across Granville Island, the actual connection point is at some distance from it. This causes wayfinding challenges, increased travel time, and barriers for access.
Through this studio, we explored different possibilities to create an interesting, functional connection between the Granville Bridge and Granville Island - while considering how this connection (or elements of the connection) can be accessible for everyone.
The city is changing. Studio space is disappearing. How can we tackle this problem?
There has been a steady decline in Vancouver studio space over the last 10 years, with existing spaces facing precarious and uncertain futures.
It’s an incomplete, often inaccurate and harmful commemorative landscape out there. As many municipalities work on their commemoration policies, how can we rethink the way we design, maintain and debate public representation? What would a reorientation of the status quo of monuments be?