Public Architecture
2007 – $5,000 General Support
Sidewalk Plaza design campaignPublic Architecture’s public interest design campaigns are multidisciplinary initiatives that utilize design and advocacy to address issues of broad social relevance on which design could profoundly impact.The Sidewalk Plaza design campaign, focused in San Francisco’s South of Market area, took an innovative approach to developing new open space. Through permanent sidewalk bump-outs programmed with amenities keyed to the neighborhood’s diverse uses, the Plazas provide a responsive, replicable model for generating neighborhood-supporting open spaces, improved street life, and more closely-knit communities. Combined with a companion advocacy effort, the campaign initiated a process through which people can engage in reflecting on and working for positive change in their neighborhoods. The first Plaza is sited in front of Brainwash Café/Laundromat on Folsom Street and was completed in 2008.