12.4. Malleability

Make the Public Space System responsive to human need for Co-Production and adaptivity.

Problem-statement: People need environments that they can shape for themselves, as play, as art, or just to be comfortable.

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Discussion: A malleable environment is one we can shape ourselves, and engage with our creativity and enjoyment. Not every environment needs to have malleability — but at least some of them do. A playground with sand… a garden with plants and dirt... a public space with Movable Seating…

In a sense, all of our human environments need some form of malleability.¹ For example, we close curtains, we open doors, we position windows for just the right amount of fresh air — not too much… We need responsive environments to meet our needs, and moreover, to meet these needs as they change over time.

Gardens offer an especially malleable (and pleasurable) environment.

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Therefore:

Provide for malleability in the urban environment, in the form of materials that can be shaped, adjusted, and changed over time.

Use malleability to produce Human-Scale Detail with Complex Materials. Use malleable materials, like cardboard, foam or sandbags, to shape a Community Mockup to develop a more permanent structure later. …

¹ The idea of environmental responsiveness is discussed in Bentley, I., Alcock, A., Murrain, P., McGlynn, S., Smith, G. (1985). Responsive Environments: A manual for designers. London: Routledge.

Mehaffy, M. et al. (2020). MALLEABILITY (pattern). In A New Pattern Language for Growing Regions. The Dalles: Sustasis Press. Available at https://pattern-language.wiki/.../Malleability

12.4. Malleability

Aus Pattern Language Wiki

Therefore:

SECTION I:

PATTERNS OF SCALE

1. REGIONAL PATTERNS

2. URBAN PATTERNS

3. STREET PATTERNS

4. NEIGHBORHOOD PATTERNS

5. SPECIAL USE PATTERNS

6. PUBLIC SPACE PATTERNS

7. BLOCK AND PLOT PATTERNS

8. STREETSCAPE PATTERNS

9. BUILDING PATTERNS

10. BUILDING EDGE PATTERNS

SECTION II:

PATTERNS OF MULTIPLE SCALE

11. GEOMETRIC PATTERNS

12. AFFORDANCE PATTERNS

13. RETROFIT PATTERNS

14. INFORMAL GROWTH PATTERNS

15. CONSTRUCTION PATTERNS

SECTION III:

PATTERNS OF PROCESS

16. IMPLEMENTATION TOOL PATTERNS

17. PROJECT ECONOMICS PATTERNS

18. PLACE GOVERNANCE PATTERNS

19. AFFORDABILITY PATTERNS

20. NEW TECHNOLOGY PATTERNS