#WodenExperiment Design Concept Out Now

The concept design for a six-month activation aiming to bring life, joy and comfort to Canberra’s Woden Town Square has been released by ACT Minister Chris Steel, backed with a 67-page research report into the community’s experience.

#WodenExperiment is a collaboration between Street Furniture Australia and ACT Government. Context Landscape Design has prepared the design concept.

The concept includes five hubs of activity: a work hub, green dining, community square, social lounge and timeout space.

The hubs feature a stage for community performances, outdoor offices, smart benches with phone and laptop charging, table settings near spaces set aside for coffee and food vendors, and turf areas with sun lounges.

Larger concept map with legend.

The aim is to attract more visitors as well as encourage people to stop and spend time, rather than use the area as a thoroughfare.

The concept responds to the results of a six-week Discovery phase carried out by Street Furniture Australia to delve into the community’s experience of the square.

“The objective was to really try to understand the needs and aspirations of the Woden community in order to form the design brief for the town square activation,” says Street Furniture Australia Design and Marketing Manager June Lee Boxsell.

“From deep empathy interviews, surveys, workshops and observation, we identified six key personas: fictional characters to represent demographic and social groups. We identified the Mum, Office Worker, Time Outer, Student, Wanderer and Retiree, so we have a strong image in mind of who we’re designing for.

“The personas were at the heart of the design brief we received for #WodenExperiment. We connected each of the five hubs in our concept to the personas, and how they might like to use Woden Town Square,” says Context Design Director Hamish Dounan.

“For example, a Mum with a pram will be able to sit and have a coffee, charge her phone in the shade and watch her kid play in a safe environment. She’ll be able to attend an outdoor pop-up library for Story Time, and on the weekend she could visit the square for dinner and listen to live jazz under the fairy lights.

“We’re really designing experiences for her, and all of our other personas, facilitated by the physical environment.”

#WodenExperiment also aims to address five key challenges unearthed during the Discovery phase: the microclimate including wind and lack of shade; grey-ness (both physical and psychological), limited activities with few reasons to stay; lack of connection via signage and technology; and feelings of safety and security.

The ACT Government is now calling for expressions of interest from the community for ideas on how to activate the new space. Activation will begin February 2019.

If community groups are interested in running events or activities in the public space during the six-month installation, they are invited to register their interest at the Your Say ACT website, where the concept plan is also available.

Access to the 67-page Discovery Report with information about the personas, challenges and opportunities, and full survey results, is available at the StreetChat Discovery Report article.

Timeout

Social Lounge

Green Dining

Community Square

For more information about #WodenExperiment, see our StreetChat article, read the Discovery Report and follow the project on Facebook.