Most public spaces are imagined, planned, and designed for the daytime. As a result, the urban night is often neglected, underrepresented, and understudied. Nevertheless, nighttime research and design is emerging as an interdisciplinary area of study. Examining cities after dark raises important, new questions about nighttime activities, diverse users and their perceptions of space and time.
In MacArthur Park, various communities share public spaces after dark. While conducting research for our capstone, we learned that the park is a dynamic place at night; a complex environment for economic, cultural, and social life. Despite our observations, many of our questions about these user groups remain unanswered. We still know very little about how nighttime activities unfold in an immigrant neighborhood, with a strong vendor community and a significant unhoused population.
Our research proposal for Plug N’ Play at MacArthur Park seeks to activate public space with a familiar and symbolic intervention. The public art installation will also facilitate a research inquiry on how nighttime park users perceive and engage with their nighttime environment. We hope to deploy this prototype to gather information about life at night and document the experience through film.
The Plug N’ Play prototype is a modular urban infrastructure to be sited in Macarthur Park. Inspired by playground equipment, the installation consists of 4 vertical and 6 horizontal metal supports connected by a flexible set of light “bars”. The prototype could be fabricated at the UCLA Ideas Lab. Its design allows users to both literally and metaphorically “plug” into its framework. Literally, it offers a public power source for park visitors and dwellers. Metaphorically, its structural capabilities and open-ended design invites countless uses or appropriations. While this installation will exist in a standalone configuration, we imagine a future where many modules could be strung together--facilitating a variety of scenarios to play out in the urban theater.
Plug N’ Play at MacArthur Park is a physical installation that will light up with colorful lights, but also through visitors. The structure will be activated by diverse users and activities. Prior to the installation night(s), we will approach park users and local organizations and invite them to “inhabit” the installation. Based on their programmatic interests, we will develop a schedule for different users to use the installation as an infrastructure that supports their interests. These might include food vendors, musical or dance performances, or setting up a stand to distribute information.
