On January 21, at 18:00h., our PhD candidate Gabriela Ornelas will give a lecture on landscapes of co-presence in cities:

Public spaces full of life are the dream of most urban planners. Since the 1960s, this theme has gained momentum and broadened the understanding that urban design can impact the use of streets, parks, squares, and sidewalks. The liveliness of a public space relies on distinct motives for people to leave home in different times of the day and the adequacy of available physical features. Not only its aesthetic composition, but also the layout of streets, the size of blocks, the uses of ground level, and the orientation and height of surrounding buildings. By facilitating or hindering the use of public spaces, spatial configuration generates patterns of movement and, consequently, of co-presence. In cities with great cultural and social diversity, patterns of co-presence form distinct landscapes that help shape our worldview, what we identify with, and what we want to experience in society. Architects and urban planners are often optimistic about the results of urban diversity, but is this positivity inherent to good design? In this talk, I will address the role of the configuration of public spaces in the construction of distinct landscapes of co-presence.

Hers is the third point of view in the Lecture Series „Spaziergänge durch Lebendige Landschaften. Perspectives from three positions“, a partnership between the Center for Critical Studies in Architecture (CCSA) and the Museum Giersch of Goethe University (MGGU), as part of the exhibition „Solastalgia“. The lecture will be held in English and the entrance is free.

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