- Systemic changes
The PARKLET 2 GO is a pedal-powered, mobile toolkit to quickly, informally and effectively create a temporary parklet. It transforms parking spaces into places to meet, hang out and host a spontaneous public discourse about how we use space in our cities.
This mobile urban furniture ensemble is adaptable to various public spaces: Car-only parking lots or underused urban plazas alike. Its modular design features two large benches that seat up to eight people, two parasols, a table, four small barrier elements, three flower beds and one plant container as habitat for a resilient city tree. The PARKLET 2 GO can be swiftly loaded onto a bicycle trailer for a zerocarbon and flexible transport across the cityscape. The PARKLET 2 GO is a tool for engaged urban practitioners to make alternative designs of urban public space tangible. The idea is to further evolve the PARKLET 2 GO so that hands-on urbanists can proactively initiate awareness changes amongst the population and decision-makers.
The PARKLET 2 GO prototype has been hand-built in a carpentry workshop in Tyrol, Austria and consists mainly from wood. The use of as much natural material as possible and the competence of building the prototype is a way to better understand the design and prototyping process. (Photos: Natalia Zajacikova)
The PARKLET 2 GO is adaptable to various public spaces: Car-only parking lots or underused urban plazas alike. The mobile and modular design enables various types of urban interventions: Docking to spatial potentials. Small-scale discussion events in unusual locations. Paradoxical spatial interventions in spaces that are used in a very mono-functional and auto-centered way. Dropping by major events as to create a meeting point and discussion room. (Rendering: Smarter Than Car / Georg Wieser)
The PARKLET 2 GO during its first applications in Vienna, Austria. The team of Smarter Than Car usually plans a tour through the city, a location where it can be hosted or visits iconic and underused public spaces to create a temporary utopia to demonstrate alternative spatial realities. (Photos: Smarter Than Car / Florian Lorenz)
The PARKLET 2 GO transforming a parking spot for a temporary parklet. Two people can set up (and pack up) the entire ensemble in less than ten minutes. (Photos: Smarter Than Car / Florian Lorenz)
The PARKLET 2 GO transforming an underused street corner into a meeting point. Depending on the local conditions the design can be adapted to various shapes and spatial configurations. Here the PARKLET 2 GO is placed in a longitudinal setup inviting people to have a rest and start a discussion. Such experimentation with micro spatial configurations provide valuable insights into how people move through public space and use urban furniture. (Photos: Smarter Than Car / Florian Lorenz)
