Hi Croydon! is a series of interventions constructed of modular components that use technology to test and determine the future role of Croydon’s valuable spaces. Think ‘Lego’, where each modular placement is composed of and built around the character and topography of a specific location and composed of a different set of component parts. More than smart furniture, the system can; take the role of green lungs by actively filtering air and engage with the community through interactive furniture that can be endlessly designed for events, dining, meeting spaces, work stations and play spaces. It can also interact directly with users delivering, live localised news, wayfinding and street notifications. Hi Croydon! innovates the traditional street into a data driven, mobile, habitable, botanic garden that can harness public life through flexible and interactive technologies.
Led by McGregor Coxall in response to the Croydon iStreet competition our submission was shortlisted to one of six from over 60 entries. The full team included McGregor Coxall (UK) with Denton Corker Marshall, 18 Degrees, Wolfströme, Millimetre and Momentum Transport.
The system, which is and can be developed for other locations and spaces, has been designed to be:
• A habitable, modular furniture system. Using a kit-of-parts approach, a range of adaptable, replicable module types allows for endless arrangements, uses and locations, where key public space elements collectively combine, to respond to any urban environment.
• A community driven and responsive outcome for the street. Through a custom designed application that integrates the modular components and embraces augmented reality, the community can interact with, design and curate up-and-coming modular configurations. The only limit is their imagination.
• A community driven and responsive outcome for the street. Through a custom designed application that integrates the modular components and embraces augmented reality, the community can interact with, design and curate up-and-coming modular configurations. The only limit is their imagination.
• An interactive lighting and wayfinding system. By integrating a dot-matrix into the perforated steel furniture modules we can create a series of light-works and narrative options - from directional wayfinding, event promotion, special messages, weather reports, place tweets etc.
• A self-sustaining breathing garden. A biodiverse topography can be established where streets become living, ecological systems. Planters can combine to collect rainwater supported by a self-watering system and reserve. Whilst low-tech fans actively inhale polluted urban air, filtering it though the soil to breathe fresh air into the street.
• A live data response to tactical urbanism. Utilising sensory recognition programs, data can be aggregated into movement information indicating the number of people using, moving through and staying in a space. The outcome is a public space that can learn from itself, gaining a strong understanding of its own impact.
Although not a winner of the Croydon competition the judges’ response was favourable: “A flexible, very practical, community-based solution. Although not a winner of this competition, the concept could, in the future, be developed further for a potential prototyping in other locations around the borough”.
