Catalytic performance

Perceptions of a public space by its users are often paralleled to its permanent urban form or built environment characteristics. Logically, urban spaces can be designed in a particular way; however, previous studies have shown that urban spaces can be used in ways that transcend their intended purpose (Borden, 2001; Stevens, 2007). As discussed in section 3.3, the variance of use or interpretation within an urban space can be determined by levels of regulation (also see Shaftoe, 2008, pp. 19 – 24). Permanent occurrences of variance in the use of urban spaces can be noted in its subsequent informal interventions by its end users; therefore, in contrast, unaltered spaces are those that are planned and heavily regulated by an authority that suppresses informality in this guise.

Within the context of this research, a manifestation of informal customisation can refer principally to ‘folk art’. Folk art is described by West as both formal and informal installations that typically reflect the utilitarian ideals of the artist’s homogenous micro-society (1996). Alternatively, informal customisation within the context of public art can fall within Lowe’s definition of ‘community art’ that purposively seeks to foster community cohesion and conviviality (2000).

When ethnographically exploring the relationships between community art and community development within an anthropological context, Lowe seeks to empirically test a mid-20^th century conjecture presented by Fromm who writes:

“…collective art is shared; it permits man [sic] to feel one with others in a

meaningful, rich, productive way” (Fromm, 1955, p. 302 as citied in Lowe, 2000, p. 360).

Within an emphasis on ‘community’, Lowe incorporates Hillery’s definition of communities being a ‘social group inhabiting a community territory and having one or more common ties’ (Hillery, 1982, p. 31 cited Lowe, 2000, p. 360). When observed in neighbourhood settings, it has been noted that additional social ties become apparent through the practice of community art. Community art,

according to Lowe, is characterised by its “experimental and inclusive nature”

(Lowe, 2000, p. 364), where “artists work in grassroots settings, creating art in

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the public interest” (ibid). By observing the life cycle of community art projects, Lowe suggests that community art creates strengthened social cohesions (Lowe, 2000, p. 379). Communities are notably provided with: a shared interest and an opportunity to socialise (Lowe, 2000, p. 366); the means to build meaningful relationships that transcended social boundaries (Lowe, 2000, p. 367); an opportunity to communicate concerns including isolation (Lowe, 2000, p. 371).

Lowe also observes that, through community art, individuals of a community are able to benefit from collective identities, where social interaction helps individuals to enhance and expand their definitions of self (Lowe, 2000, p. 371). Although the later section of Lowe’s work is more valid to ethnography, positive

occurrences are associated with community art in terms of the production of rich and meaningful relations within communities, supporting the notion of community empowerment (Lowe, 2000, p. 382). To an extent this form of art intervention presents an alternative more hands-on approach to collaborative

design/customisation but shares the method’s limitations by only engaging a set of individuals identified as a ‘community’ – some urban space users might be marginalised.

The concept of ‘urban cracks’ is explored by Verschelden et al (2012). They are described as ‘urban interspace, playing fields, transit zones, wasteland, remnant spaces, indeterminate spaces, or ignored urban spaces’ (ibid., p. 282).

Verschelden et al highlight the importance of grassroots community art in

transforming an urban space (2012). Verschelden record typical urban responses to derelict or dysfunctional landscapes as expressive community art that indirectly carries the praxis kit towards enhancing the public function of the urban space concerned within the context of urban regeneration (Carey and Sutton, 2004;

Verschelden, 2012, pp. 278 – 279). Their findings suggest that a prerequisite of community art and its community’s positive development is a blank canvas – a canvas that can be potentially provided by an insensitive yet flexible urban design.

Similar findings to Verschelden’s study are made in studies concerning Consumer Culture Theory. Cachinho explores urban retail resilience, or the

“ability for stores and shopping districts to tolerate and adapt to changing

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environments that challenge the retail system’s equilibrium [without comprising their sustainability]” (2014) within the context of consumerism. He draws parallels between the morphological characteristics, consumerscapes, and subsequent consumer behaviour. Cachino highlights a general shift from the provision of

‘retail spaces’ to the provision of ‘consumer spaces’ – spaces that exploit design cues that purposively lure consumers into a shopping experience by

incorporating the life experiences of the consumer – their dreams and desires (ibid.). Cachino cites Goss’s earlier study as an approach to how this can be achieved, where the study recommends that mall developers immerse

themselves in the local culture in order to understand the needs of their potential consumer base (1993). Essentially, the developer theoretically starts off with a stock design and then populates it by acknowledging community cultures. The success of such approaches is highlighted in the growth of Birmingham’s Muslim neighbourhoods, where it is acknowledged that the most popular high street shop fronts and uses are those that are led or mimic the cultural ideals of the end-user communities (Nasser, 2005). For example, the adaptation of parts of its high streets into informal street markets that encroach on retail units, common within Muslim and South Asian communities, has been paralleled with high

concentrations of people synonymous with its perceived busyness (see ibid., p.

69). The residents of the neighbourhood felt the need to re-appropriate the existing industrial street patterns and uses in order to make a meaningful place.

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Figure 13. Frame in control, Chandigarh - photography by Ar. Aditya Prakash, c. mid 1950s [source: Bahl, 2008]. An exemplary stretch of live/work units in Sector 20.

Figure 14. The same stretch of buildings as shown in Figure 13, Sector 20, Chandigarh – 2018. Note the placement and nature of signage, and the informal extension of retail operations unto the paved walkway [source: Sehaj Singh, 2018]

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Looking again at Chandigarh, a well-preserved example of Le Corbusier’s distinctive architectural design and autocratic urban planning that was

constructed mostly during the 1950s and 1960s, its present-day transformation reveals informal acts that optimise and personalise the public realm for local residents and businesses. Chandigarh is not a physical manifestation of Le Corbusier’s Radiant city in a strict definition; for example, it does not segregate vehicular traffic from pedestrian views through dedicated road systems. Instead its segregation is the form of self-sufficient sectors, each having their own

markets, schools, and recreational facilities. Like Ouagadougou, these sectors or neighbourhood units are arranged in a tidy grid layout. Today, the original

architecture is intact, and the plan largely unchanged. The model of ‘frame in control’ established by one of Le Corbusier’s associate architect, Aditya Prakash, is used as a model to regulate the development control in the city (Prakāsh, 2018). Nonetheless, evidence of informality is prevalent throughout the city (compare Figure 13 with Figure 14). In Figure 15, showing Sector 26, informal modifications not only depict extensive street markets, but also bold signage and colour variance, some of which covers the balcony level lattices.

Figure 15. Chandigarh street today, Sector 26 [Source: Smith, 2010 - Aging Modernism]

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A more direct response to the inflexible nature of Le Corbusier’s vision at Chandigarh is in the form of Nek Chand’s ‘Rock Garden’. Speaking after

encountering Nek Chand (see Figure 15), Doss et al talk of a profound spiritual impact associated with Chand’s work (Umberger et al, 2007, p. 23). Although not trained as a landscape architect or artist, Chand felt a desire to beautify Le

Corbusier’s concrete city of Chandigarh – a city also described by Christopher Alexander as artificial and effectively dead (Alexander, 1965, p. 2), unable to reflect the cultural ideas of the citizens who later went to modify aesthetics of the realm to meet their vernacular needs.

Using recycled materials, Chand secretly and illegally attempted to create his vision, ‘the divine kingdom of Surkani’ in an 18-acre section of protected

forestland (Maizels, 2009). Chand himself stresses that his reasons for creating the ‘Rock Garden’ was in direct response to Le Corbusier’s Stark, or ‘blank’

(Oxford Dictionary, 2017), Chandigarh city (Maizels, 2009, also see Figure 16).

Figure 16. Colonnade at Chandigarh Rock Garden (Virolaud, 2010). Note the overall asymmetry between the columns and the rounded arches, where the latter does not feature in Le Corbusier’s work. Also note the subtle inclusion of swings in the arches, informally infusing a playful dynamic.

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Although not community art in the fullness of the definition (see Lowe, 2000, p.

364), Chand’s Rock Garden does embody an informal architectural vernacular, in terms of the materials used and conveyed themes in its construction within

protected woodlands within Chandigarh. However, this contribution is best regarded as a folk-art response that customises both the recycled materials and the setting to create a desirable environment. This environment consequently represents an extreme and direct response to the blandness of nearby

Chandigarh’s Brutalist design qualities that inadequately reflect indigenous cultural ideals. This inspiration seemly supports the findings of Mahnke (1996) in that spaces void of decoration, often result in creative responses – the human desire to decorate and colour space; similarly, this also supports Salingaros’s conclusions to his 1997 paper, that humans have a desire to create interesting urban environments by raising and enhancing their ‘life’ (Salingaros, 1997, p. 16).

It can be argued that blandness is a necessary prerequisite in the creative informalities that have led to Chandigarh perceived liveliness and well used spaces. The colours, signage, and shopfronts shown in Figure 15 demonstrate how the underlying art-deco design has been gradually modified to reflect the local vernacular of Chandigarh’s local businesses and residents.

In London, the environmental quality of Camden High Street is in some ways comparable to Chandigarh. Upon its conception, the street served as a

conventional high street and part of a crucial link between Charing Cross, where distance is measured in London, to Archway North London (A400). Camden High Street intersects Regent’s Canal that was once an essential means of

transporting freight. As the railways became more economically and technically efficient, Regent’s Locks fell out of use, leaving many of the connected dock yards and wharf infrastructure abandoned. By the 1970s the buildings were occupied by artists and artisans who advertised their profession by infusing colour and informal design alterations to the upper portion of the high street. The bohemian art was synonymous with various youth cultures including Punk culture and its variants. Today the influence and exhibition of Steam Punk and Cyber Punk sub-cultures is still apparent in the urban fabric today.

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According to the Londonist, the large street signs at Camden first appeared during the 1990s as part of the market’s transformation “from a haven of countercultures into a major tourist attraction” (Brown, 2017). Here, the

independent artists and craftsmen compete to attract sales through extravagant signage, made possible through lax planning regulations. In this instance, the conventional shop frontages, awnings, and renders are not enough to convey the individualities of the building occupiers.

In various volumes, Alexander stresses the need for community involvement in design towards a timeless way of building (2004; 1979). Carmona argues that urban spaces should be flexibly designed with flexibility to allow for community inputs to design, where he stresses the need for “environments that users can modify and adapt” (Carmona, 2010, 121). However, the noted examples of responses are discrete and codified. The most obvious responses to urban planning are often discussed in terms of inspirations behind the occurrence of graffiti murals in the UK.