Call for ideas – Creative Industries Styria (Austria) – "Street Furniture – Design in Public Space"
_Slide/images/uploads/20100416-cis-a.jpg "20100416-cis-a")
“Street furniture is part and parcel of a city’s identity. It is the user interface for people in the city. That communicative, good to look at and, above all, userfriendly. So a lot is involved. It’s about shaping public space in Graz. As we understand it, ‘street furniture’ also means giving the city a shot of adrenaline, a kick that will get people saying: “Wow! That’s my means it must be simple and attractive, functional, city!” That’s where your ideas come in.
And another thing – we mean to implement your ideas as well. For the people in the city and the city itself, which lives and breathes. And if we get welldesigned public space into the bargain, we’ll have our city where we want it – as a focal point of public attention, both local and outsider, a matter of interest in respect of design and creativity, at the permanent point of friction that gives rise to innovation.
Background
In summer 2009, Graz officially applied to UNESCO for City of Design status. The existing perceptible strong orientation towards design and the creative economy in the city will become still more pronounced. That also involves a commitment to the subject of design in public space – and it is this public space that is now the focus of our interest in this appeal.
“Content
What we are looking for is ideas for street furniture for the public space around the Kunsthaus Graz. The street furnishings will be used between the Hauptbrücke (main bridge), Südtirolerplatz, Mariahilferplatz, Lendkai and Griesgasse. We are looking explicitly for items of a maximally flexible and multifunctional nature.
The best entries submitted under this appeal for ideas will be presented to the public in May 2010, this year’s Design Month in Graz. It is anticipated that any implementation of the best suggestions will be completed by the end of August. The total budget of €120,000 is available for any implementation of the project. The organisers reserve the right to implement projects from several entries, where appropriate.
[…]
Participants abroad may submit all entry documents solely in digital form (as pdfs, in the formats specified above) by e-mail by midnight (local time), 30th April 2010 to office@cis.at. In the case of entries sent by post from abroad, data must be additionally sent by e-mail as advance notice. In this case, the complete package of entry documents should be sent no later than 30th April 2010.”
To visit the website of Creative Industries Styria…
(Source: Stéphanie Jecrois, Design Montréal, Service de la mise en valeur du territoire et du patrimoine, Direction du développement économique et urbain, Ville de Montréal)