projects


‘Honoring Japan’s ‘sense of place’ was recently funded through Kickstarter. It was based on my trip to Japan for five weeks in Oct/Nov of 2011.

PUBLIC INTERACTIVE PROJECT
The project focuses on artistic research into Japan’s ‘sense of place’, as well as an investigation into how the ‘sense of place’ of Japan has changed due the Tsunami: what is lost and what remains.

This is an interactive public project; using the platform of Kickstarter to create art based on public interaction. This project will document my experience of Japan for the first time via your suggestions of ‘sense of place’ moments. Every Kickstarter supporter contributed to the planning of my five week itinerary in Japan: places to go, food to eat, people to meet, art and architecture to see etc.; something specific that resonates as ‘Japan’ that I then experienced and documented when I’m was there. The photographs, collages and other works produced from this project will become a publication on return to the U.S.

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JANUARY, 2011
Bike Racks as Public Art are INSTALLED. Project developed by Laurie Halsey Brown / senseofplace LAB

Bike Rack as Public Art designed by Kirk Scott
Installed on Polk Street, in front of San Francisco City Hall


Bike Rack as Public Art designed by Ryan Dempsey
Installed on Polk Street, in front of San Francisco City Hall


Bike Rack as Public Art designed by Todd Gilens
Installed on Market Street and 6th


Label on installed Bike Racks as Public Art works

Winners:
Kirk Scott, Todd Gilens and Kody Kellogg [not fabricated]
Honorable Mentions:
Ryan Dempsey [fabricated], Gabriel Phillips, Eugene Wong, Mark Flaming & Geoff Palmer.

At an exhibition at American Institute for Architecture SF in 2007, titled INOUT, I saw a design of a bike rack shaped like a car and placed in a parking space. It underlined my awareness that design and public art can play a distinctive role in making biking more accessible. Fast forward to the Treasure Island Community Transportation Plan, which launched their report in April, 2009 with recommendations for how to create a model bike and pedestrian friendly community. This plan creates is a huge opportunity for the redeveloped island to be truly sustainable — 3,500 and 5,000 housing units will be located within a 10-minute walk of a transit center. Using a very small portion of the monies from a $98,000 grant from CalTrans Division of Transportation Planning, my idea for a the Treasure Island Bike Rack as Public Art Design Contest began development. In February, 2009, we received 70 submissions of high quality in just 3 weeks time, which reflects well on the talent pool in San Francisco. This aspect of the contest alone generated valuable awareness of Treasure Island. In March, 2009, I organized an interdisciplinary panel for the competition to include leading people from the fields of architecture, design, urban planning, public art and public transportation; David Baker/Partner David Baker + Partners, Courtney Fink/Director of SOEX Gallery, Dave Snyder/Transportation Policy Director at SPUR, Heath Maddox/Bicycle Sharing Program at the SFMTA, Ben Davis/Owner, Words, Pictures, Ideas and Teri Gardiner/ Communications Director of the SFBC. The panel chose the winners based on how well the rack reflected the unique character of Treasure Island, whether it was functional as a bike rack and whether or not it activated public space. The racks have since been fabricated, and temporarily installed in San Francisco.

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JULY 2010
San Francisco Planning & Urban Research magazine: The Urbanist 07/10 issue
‘Six intersections of ‘place’ at Stockton and Vallejo‘
- Research, text and photographs on what has become San Francisco’s ‘North China Beach’
by Laurie Halsey Brown / senseofplace LAB