Public space is vital to urban society because it lies at the center of social and cultural life, however today the internet acts as a new centrality where fundamental connections between individuals and cultures occur in a new invisible setting. Today both physical and digital space serve as a vital interface for civic engagement and public participation. This project seeks to explore ways to both strengthen the significance of our online public interactions and enliven the urban public realm by translating digital cultures into physical relics within the urban environment. The design of the systems themselves were the focus of this exploration, giving physical and digital content the ability to flow between both worlds. Three situations are explored in the context of Downtown Los Angeles, centering focus on the redesign of historic Pershing Square:

‘The Search Engine’ examines the shift in society’s relationship to knowledge, news, and information because of the internet. A portable system of parklets actively increase participation in physical and digital public spaces to promote the consumption of media as a shared experience, while the vehicle serves as an archive for news and occurrences specific to DTLA.

‘letterPRESS | SCREENprint’ translates the way ideas are spread organically from person to person on the internet into a physical experience. A letterpress poster printing shop that resides on the square provides a tangible way for ideas to be created, shared, and discussed in person while altering the visual landscape of the city.

‘FacadeCast’ provides a platform for spontaneous and organized entertainment to be shared with wider audiences both physically and digitally. A pavilion on the square encourages the filming of user-generated performances and broadcasts them onto a nearby facade.