6 Pioneering Urban Planning Projects Transforming Public Space

The latest edition of “Architizer: The World’s Best Architecture” — a stunning, hardbound book celebrating the most inspiring contemporary architecture from around the globe — is now available. Order your copy today.  

The price of taking up space in our global cities can be immense. Land is frequently dissected, demarcated and developed for the private sphere, framed by boundaries that can only be permeated by a select few. Designated public space, that is to say, space that is democratized and accessible to all, is a precious thing in the fabric of the urban landscape.

For the architects of these A+Award-winning projects, public life is at the heart of their vision. From ambitious, sprawling masterplans to ingenious infrastructure schemes and exciting adaptive reuse initiatives, discover how innovative urban planning is helping to reclaim corners of the city for the wider community.

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Al Hosn Masterplan and Landscape

By CEBRA, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Popular Choice Winner, 10^th Annual A+Awards, Urban and Masterplan

Past and future collide in this striking reimagining of Abu Dhabi’s cultural hub. The transformative masterplan envelops the 18th-century Qasr Al Hosn Fort and the Cultural Foundation building, two structures that speak to the city’s genesis, and reinstates them at the heart of an outstanding urban park.

Flat expanses of sand-hued concrete frame the fort, evoking the historic desert terrain that predated the busy metropolis. Moving through the park, the landscape shifts and evolves, the irregular, angular volumes blurring the distinction between topography and building. The fractured surfaces and geometric blocks, reminders of the sandbars and salt flats, morph into food and drink establishments, eventually culminating in a vast prayer hall. The visual transitions of the architectural terrain are an embodiment of the city’s origin story — an extraordinary journey through space and time.

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Pedestrian green bridge in Almaty

By Atrium Studio, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Jury Winner, 10^th Annual A+Awards, Unbuilt Transportation

Bridges are typically passing places — liminal, transitory spaces that connect two locations. Not so with this concept design for a location in Almaty. Straddling a busy highway, the bridge is divided into two threads and two differing spatial experiences: one a linear, direct route and the other a curving, winding path punctuated by observation points and tactile landscaping that reflects the native terrains of Kazakhstan. The bridge is elevated from a functional tool into a sky garden and a destination in its own right.

The structure of the bridge and its defined columns resemble a Kazakh ornament, a sculptural homage to the country’s national identity. The supports have been cleverly incorporated into the design of the elevated garden above, the depths utilized as planters that can accommodate trees and their large root systems. It’s a poignant reminder of the beauty that can grow in the in-between.

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West End Square

By James Corner Field Operations, Dallas, Texas

Popular Choice Winner, 10^th Annual A+Awards, Public Parks & Green Spaces

Nestled amongst the hubbub of Downtown Dallas, this exceptional green space was built on the site of an old parking lot. The design of West End Square grew in response to the local community’s needs, balancing a rich organic terrain, evocative of the Texas Blackland Prairies, with events spaces and socializing zones imbued with a remarkable technological infrastructure.

A trellis encircles the civic development, a portal of sorts between the street and the interior world of the park. Combining work, play and respite, the framework accommodates an outdoor workroom, game room and innovation arcade. Ingeniously, the structure also houses an electrical interface, which powers motion-sensor lighting and fans — the system has been designed to adapt to the evolving technological needs of the city too. This urban space offers a cutting-edge blueprint for parks of the future. It’s a powerful example of how digital and organic landscapes can be seamlessly interwoven for the betterment of a community.

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The St. Pete Pier

By ROGERS PARTNERS Architects+Urban Designers, Saint Petersburg, Florida

Popular Choice Winner, 10^th Annual A+Awards, Government & Civic Buildings

Encompassing 26 acres, this ground-breaking urban development in Saint Petersburg is a dramatic departure from the traditional, staid typology of the public pier. The vast project incorporates a welcome center, educational spaces, art installations, playgrounds, shops, restaurants and a large outdoor events venue.  As well as three new buildings, new terrains have been skillfully articulated, including a glistening white-sand beach.

The pier responds sensitively to the wider cityscape — new avenues of connection, from public transport to bike paths and jogging trails, affirm the development as an extension of the established urban topography. Environmental challenges are deftly negotiated too. Sited on a coastal stretch that bears the brunt of rising sea levels and storm surges, the design incorporates impressive drainage solutions and flood-resistant features to protect the structure from the increasingly challenging effects of climate change.

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Rethinking Melbourne’s Carparks

By Bates Smart, Melbourne, Australia

Popular Choice Winner, 10^th Annual A+Awards, Unbuilt Commercial

Carving out precious public landscapes in space-starved cities often requires creative thinking. In Melbourne, where car parks constitute the third-largest use of land, architecture firm Bates Smart is advocating for a reversal of the vehicle-first approach that has defined the city’s planning. Instead, they suggest an ambitious adaptive reuse initiative to transform multi-story car parks into public community zones.

Their pioneering concept incentivizes owners to sell these private car park sites to developers. The structures are then designated a public benefit and handed back to the city, and in return, developers are permitted to build beyond the city’s authorized plot ratio on another site. A mutually beneficial trade, the vertical spaces can then be repurposed into valuable community infrastructure, including parks and recreational facilities. This innovative proposal seeks to reclaim pockets of the city for the wider public and environmental good.

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Little Island

By Heatherwick Studio, Manhattan, New York

Jury Winner, 10^th Annual A+Awards, Public Parks & Green Spaces

Square footage is the gold dust of New York City. Rather than vying for existing space, the architects behind Little Island ventured out into the Hudson River instead. A peaceful oasis on the water, the public park is moments from the frenetic streets of the Lower West Side, yet it sits at a profound distance, quietly humming to its own low, slow rhythm.

A contemporary iteration of the classic pier, the park emerges from a set of piles of varying heights topped with deep, earth-filled pots, which merge to establish one cohesive surface. In contrast with New York City’s rigid grid system, the staggered piles create an undulating topography that gives way to rolling hills, curving paths and a natural amphitheater. This spectacular space is an invitation to leave behind the city that never sleeps for a time and beat a welcome retreat into nature.

The latest edition of “Architizer: The World’s Best Architecture” — a stunning, hardbound book celebrating the most inspiring contemporary architecture from around the globe — is now available. Order your copy today.