Public space as an open work. The case of the Fishing Harbour Avalik ruum avatud teosena. Kalasadama juhtum

Abstract

The present article is part of a doctoral dissertation which is being written on the same topic. The aim of the article is to show – by way of a case study – that places which are more ‘open’ (because of their elements, maintenance plan and general atmosphere) and which have some room for adaptation are used in more diverse and creative ways than places with a predetermined function. Urban public spaces are spaces which, on the one hand, are noticed and contacted by many and which receive much and consistent attention by their users; on the other hand, they suffer from tension and constraints because they are being used intensively. These two components emphasise the need and possibility to study the quality of urban places, and more precisely, the relations between the quality of space and the quality of emotion.

The article illustrates the concept of ‘open work’ by Umberto Eco by studying public space, stating that public space as any other work in the domain of art is an unfinished product of the creative process, which is interpreted by the viewer-reader-user of the work and which the author can never really finish, or rather, determine how each user interprets the work.

The more predetermined the arrangement of public space is, the less room there is for self-growth, for a possibility to have personal contact with the place, to generate stories. It does not matter how competent the planner, the designer or the engineer is, the place comes to life only after the involvement of a user. As the final target of the accessibility, creation and design of the environment, product or service is always the user, it is essential that the process of design should be a combination of development and research as well as of the immediate use. Or, in other words, design should always take into account the involvement of users who try and adapt and realise the affordances made available to them. All possible uses of the place can never be foreseen, or more precisely, the planner has no need to specify all of them. Similarly, the ultimate appearance of spatial elements in an outdoor space cannot be determined from the beginning: the wear and tear of the processes is written into their life so that they have no static or permanent character. The designers have a guiding role and their task is to establish open conditions so that the place could be developed through use. The Fishing Harbour has not been developed by a designer, which refers to the possibility of avoiding needless planning.