Table for 100: Promoting citizen interaction
Client
City of Montreal - Rosemont-Petite-Patrie borough
Location
Shamrock Avenue, Jean-Talon Market (Montreal)
Year
2019
Services
Urban furniture design
Awards
Grands Prix du Design - Industrial design / Urban furniture - 2021
Initiated in 2014, the redevelopment project of Shamrock Avenue aims to encourage interactions between citizens while creating an important link between Saint-Laurent Boulevard and the Jean-Talon Market. With this in mind, we designed and developed a range of street furniture that is modern, inviting, and inclusive. In addition to the creation of fountains and counters for food preparation, the key element of this project is the creation of a large table seating up to 100 people where citizens are invited and encouraged to spontaneously engage and share, whether it is a meal or a conversation.
Reclaiming public space
The inspiration for this concept is typical Italian block parties where whole villages get together to share recipes, games, and songs. We hope that by making available infrastructures adapted for social contexts and human needs there will be an increase in the involvement, closeness, and link between citizens in a manner mirroring a large family.
Empathetic, user-centered design
Our mission is to understand and answer the needs of citizens, while acknowledging the diversity of the human experience. From the tourist seeking an authentic culinary experience, the resident running errands, the young family looking for a resting place or the elders inhabiting the neighborhood for many years, they all represent the guiding forces behind the project, since they will be the ones to inhabit and claim the space as their own.
Accessibility
The accessible areas are located to offer a maximum amount of interaction and inclusivity to wheelchairs, mobility scooters, and baby carriages. Seating is positioned strategically. For example, benches are placed facing playgrounds.
Photos: Raphaël Thibodeau
