How do you build the City of Trust?
We partnered with our friends at Place Bureau and UNStudio to explore the idea of trust and how that might create new possibilities for the design of cities.
At the Media Architecture Biennale, we delved into building this world with researchers, media artists and architects — who brought perspectives from Taiwan, Australia, Singapore, Pakistan, The Netherlands and Canada among other places.
Exploring concepts like the Drag Queen Police Station, the Euphoric Subway and the Hippie Robots, to counter challenging scenarios of safety on public transport, houselessness, cultural gentrification and AI takeover.
What emerged?
Fun fights Fear
Exploring the queer city and anti-anxiety transport systems, a sense of colour and celebration brings brightness, light and positivity.
Vitality as the Counterpoint to Control
Bringing life, energy and movement in all forms — with a role for media and nature to create living spaces. How do you make a safe space for these players to evolve over time?
What’s the Marshmallow?
Riffing off a Montreal tradition of civic bonfires and marshmallow toasting in the winter, encouraging strangers to get talking. What’s the marshmallow that gives us an excuse to celebrate with people we don’t know yet?
Expression is EverythingBeing able to express a true sense of identity in a space is a real sign of trust. If more people feel freer to do so, would we all feel more secure and welcome?
While we often consider trust to be an intangible element of the city, the speculative design tools we’ve developed make it vivid, physical and experiential.
If you want to build more trust in the places you’re building, through research, design or communication, get in touch with the team brucemaudesign, theplacebureau and UNSx.
What would you build into in your City of Trust?
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