public space
News
Architecture as a cultural negotiator
As Snøhetta marks ten years of permanent presence in Australia, co-founder Kjetil Trædal Thorsen reflects on Country, civic generosity, regenerative design and why architecture must keep imagining “memories of the future.”
News
Manuelle Gautrand on architecture that moves us
The extraordinary French architect, Manuelle Gautrand, has recently completed PHIVE, a major civic project in Paramatta, NSW. We took the opportunity to talk with her about architecture.
Events
Three kiosks, three architects: Small-scale architecture across Hiroshima
We look back at the Hiroshima Architecture Exhibition in late 2025, where Junya Ishigami, Yasushi Horibe and Hideyuki Nakayama designed three poetic mobile kiosks.
Ideas
Architecture, democracy and feeling at home in our cities
The built environment is all around us; would the average citizen feel less alienated if the education system engaged more explicitly with it?
People
Simple Living Passage completes HAS design and research’s Simple World series in Hefei
The Simple Living Passage marks the final project in the Simple World series by Jenchieh Hung + Kulthida Songkittipakdee of HAS design and research, transforming a retail walkway in Hefei into a reflective public space shaped by timber and movement.
Project
Parramatta Light Rail Stage 1 wins Australian Good Design Award Gold
Australia’s first planted light rail corridor sets new benchmark for transport-led urban transformation.
Project
Oyster terrazzo by the harbour
Pier Pavilion by Besley & Spresser provides a refreshing, architecturally thoughtful and versatile public space by the water at Barangaroo.
Project
Happy New Year, happy new Fish Market
With a date now set for January 2026, Sydney’s landmark project is taking shape as a significant and welcome addition to civic life in the city.
Ideas
Richard Francis-Jones: Whose city is it anyway?
Richard Francis-Jones, Design Director at fjcstudio, writes about the search for public space between the consumerism of commercial self-interest and the bureaucratic authoritarianism of the state.
Workplace
The workplace spaces in between: Grosvenor Place by DesignOffice
DesignOffice brings this 1980s Harry Seidler icon into modern working mode with ‘third spaces’ that look and feel like a top-end business lounge.
Project
<strong>City Gather Park: Where art, nature and people come together</strong>
In the City Gather Park in Changsha, China, Chengdu-based Dean Design merges natural ecology and urban life with installations to create a memorable and poetic respite in the heart of the city.
Ideas
Is the clubhouse the next workspace and learning space?
What is the purpose of a clubhouse? COMODO Interior & Furniture Design gives new meaning to this social space through its Artisan Garden Clubhouse project.
Ideas
How can privately owned public space transform our cities?
From 1960s New York when private developers were incentivised to create civic space in the public realm, to today: where POPS tread a fine line between the private and the public. Denton Corker Marshall looks at how we can bridge the two.
Ideas
Are architects responsible for shaping happy communities?
ARM Architecture’s Jesse Judd and Mark Raggatt discuss how the pandemic has emphasised the importance of public space and why placemaking is now more important than ever.
Ideas
When did placemaking become a private business matter?
For whom and for what reasons do we make ‘places’? Could a more inclusive approach to placemaking improve social connections and opportunities?
People
Hiroshi Naito: Architecture for the people
“The architecture of the 21st century lays more emphasis on entertainment.” Architect Hiroshi Naito discusses his thoughts on design that emphasizes experience over simple aesthetics.
People
Hiroshi Naito: Architecture for the people
“The architecture of the 21th century lays more emphasis on entertainment”. Architect Hiroshi Naito discusses his thoughts on design that emphasizes experience over simple aesthetics.
Project
A Mall With A Theatrical Heart In Shanghai By Kokaistudios
The newly renovated Shimao Festival City in Shanghai references the world of the theatre and incorporates public spaces of engagement and exchange.
Project
A Mall With A Theatrical Heart By Kokaistudios
The newly renovated Shimao Festival City in Shanghai references the world of the theatre and incorporates public spaces of engagement and exchange.
Project
A Rejuvenated Harbourside Experience At The Avenue Of Stars
It is not often that a landscape architect is asked to redesign a stretch of one of the most iconic harbours in the world. James Corner Field Operations has updated the Avenue of Stars promenade for the twenty-first century.
Project
Avenue Of Stars Rejuvenation: A New Experience Of The Harbourside
It is not often that a landscape architect is asked to redesign a stretch of one of the most iconic harbours in the world. James Corner Field Operations has updated the Avenue of Stars promenade for the twenty-first century.
Events
Play is for the People: An Exhibition Exploring New Ways to Use Public Space in Hong Kong
Design Trust Futures Studio rethinks four micro-parks across the city, coming up with new solutions geared at existing – and future – communities.
Project
Ginza Sony Park: An Ever-Changing Public Space In A Retail Site
How do you replace an iconic, 50-year-old structure and completely reimagine the potential of its central metropolitan site?
Project
Ginza Sony Park: A Retail Site Reimagined As An Ever-Changing Public Space
How do you replace an iconic, 50-year-old structure and completely reimagine the potential of its central metropolitan site?
Project
CoFuFun, a Public Plaza by Nendo
Nendo’s first public space brings the fun outdoors, with stepped saucers that reference ancient Japanese tombs.