苏州设计周XPORT·小公园

小公园位于苏州市姑苏区观前街,是苏州老城区的中心。与苏州众多新老公园相比,小公园无论是体量还是内容都并不出众,但就是这个更像是小广场一样大的地方,周围簇拥着戏院、书场、剧场和人民商场等众多城市公共建筑,可以说,小公园从20世纪20年代起就已经为苏州人熟知。今年,身处闹市中的小公园变身为潮流集市,通过植入的集装箱给老城区的商业街注入了活力,如今,借着本次设计周的契机,小公园又一次通过设计赋能,带着新的标签和面貌重新亮相。

在小公园的更新改造中,我们对原有集装箱进行连接和重新组合,用一个艺术化的手法塑造出三组可以进行文创展示的展厅,展厅之间或聚合成组、或蜿蜒连通,作为对苏州园林中曲院回廊空间的一种当代性解读。其次,在展厅聚落的上空,黄色帷幔组合而成的天棚所带来的独特气质,也凸显了小公园在观前街街区的文化地标性,从城市中每一条街道前来的人们都会被醒目的天棚所吸引。本次改造设计通过加强小公园这个临时建筑群体强烈的几何特征和游园体验,试图能够在喧闹繁华的商业街街区中创造一个相对安静的文创场所,让大家在游园中感受文化,在设计中感受自然。

升级改造之后的小公园名为 XPORT, X代表着开放和无限的可能,PORT是港口、是门户、也是风向标。我们希望通过对原有集装箱单元和群组的布局重组带来产品上和使用上的灵活性,这种产品化的设计方式也有着广泛的适用性,每一个城市都面临着在城市公共空间中产生更多创新消费场景的需求,因此,每一个城市都可以有一个XPORT。

在本年度的苏州国际设计周结束之后,XPORT·小公园将继续发挥能量,成为一个承载各类设计与文化艺术展示交流与商业节庆活动的城市“迷你设计中心”,持续催化以观前街为中心的这座古城未来的良性更新发展。

XPORT is located at Guanqian Street in Gusu District, Suzhou, the centre of the old quarter.  Compared with other parks in Suzhou, although this pocket park’s volume and content are not outstanding, this small plaza-sized place is surrounded by opera houses, bookstores, theatres, People’s mall and other public buildings, which lead this little place be well known since the 20s’ last century. This year, the pocket park was transferred into a pop-up bazaar that stimulated the high-street in old town by inserting programmed containers. Recently, taking advantage of Suzhou International Design Week, this pocket park is once again empowered by design, with a new label and presence.

During the installation of this pocket park regeneration, we rearranged and attached the original containers to devise three groups of exhibition space with an artistic manner.  As a modern interpretation of ambulatory in traditional Suzhou gardens, the exhibition spaces are either aggregated as groups or winded linearly through containers. Additionally, the canopy’s unique atmosphere, which made up with yellow valance, has also emphasised the pocket park as a cultural landmark at Guanqian Street. The striking canopy would attract people from every street in this area.  This regeneration design is to enhance the geometric characteristic and costumers’ touring experience of this temporary construction to create a peaceful cultural site in the boisterous commercial strip for citizens to experience culture and environment in touring.

The pocket park is renamed as XPORT after updating, X means infinite possibility. We aspirate to generate the flexibility in product and use by readjusting the container units and groups arrangement, and this productisation design method also has extensive feasibility and applicability. Each city has needs of conceiving various advanced commercial sites in public spaces. Thus, each city could have an XPORT.

After this year’s Suzhou International design week, XPORT will continue to serve as a “mini-design centre” that hosts various design and culture exhibition and commercial festival events and consistently incubates the optimum regeneration of this old town the future.

Suzhou XPORT苏州设计周XPORT·小公园 | 2021 | INSTALLATION文化艺术展览 | Tags: ,