Concept Statement:
Children play everywhere and with anything - they don’t care and it’s beautiful to see. Vacant lots aren’t manicured. Human construction inevitably degrades. But what’s left is vibrant, unfiltered, exuberant life. As a very wise child wrote on a picnic table, “out of chaos, stars are born.” The goal of this project is to convey the transcendence of wild, chaotic beauty.
The anchor phrase, written in both English and French, is “You don’t have to be pretty to be beautiful.” It addresses the reader directly to inspire understanding on two levels: sometimes humans aren’t pretty. Sometime we do things that aren’t pretty. That doesn’t make us any less beautiful. We can still be valued and loved. The goal is for people - young and old - who read the message across a vacant lot to read it as about themselves as well as about the lot. If they make that connection in their minds, they may feel a bit more linked to this lot. And they may regard vacant lots or any other “unkempt” things (and people and situations) differently; with a bit more grace.
What is the project about?
The project is about appreciating the messiness of life, the imperfect parts of ourselves. It’s about accepting the chaos of existence and finding contentment where we are.
What is the project REALLY about?
This project is REALLY about loving every part of ourselves and if not loving, then accepting the ugly bits. It’s REALLY about acknowledging our fleeting existence.
What is the deeper meaning to be communicated here?
Nothing lasts. Beauty is subjective. Love is dependent on understanding.
WHY design?
Perfection is valued by humans in the western world and perhaps more broadly still. It may be argued that it is one source of depression, over consumption, addiction, and general discontent. This project is a public service announcement and a rally cry to inspire all of us to let go.
Background:
Finding perfection in the imperfection.
This space in located in southern Charlesbourg in Québec, Canada at the northeast corner of Boulevard Henri-Bourassa and 76e rue Est. It is a vacant lot with no visible human activity. It sits in a triangle of streets so any human movement is done on its three sides. This lot is right next to a bike path and at the corner of a major intersection. It is within the sightline of the children’s section of the local library.
The concrete blocks on the perifery form a clear barrier to prevent vehicle entry. The blocks are a place that children like to climb, however.
Since this lot has remained vacant for some time, vegetation has grown and developed where there is soil. A few trees are growing at the eastern corner. The northwestern corner is paved over.
The bike path to the south leads east to the Cégep (last year of high school/first year of college) and doubles the pedestrian/cycling surface area available along 76e rue Est.
This space is not inviting. It is a space that is waiting, resting. Waiting to serve a purpose in the context of human landscape. But it is also simply existing. Plants are growing and thriving and no one is out there pulling them up saying ‘this is a weed! Be gone!’ This lot does not care about making you feel good or safe or clean. This lot is a reflection of the chaos and disintegration of human behavior and the indifference of the universe to the very existence of humanity.
This project sought to explore the potential of a vacant lot; the potential for regeneration of vegetation, the potential for construction of community spaces, the potential that it simply be a non-commercial microcosm of anarchy in a capitalist landscape.
