How a municipality can start a public space project

First step

You do not need a finished design

At the start, a few photos, the location, a map or plan and a short description of what the site should achieve and who uses it today are enough. If the municipality already has a concept, sketches or tender documents, so much the better, but they are not a condition for the first conversation.

The first conversation carries no obligation. Its purpose is to establish what the site is missing and which direction makes sense before the municipality spends money on documentation.

It also helps to say straight away who manages the land, who uses it and what plans already exist for it. This information helps avoid proposals that cannot be delivered later.

Goals

Start from the site’s needs, not a catalogue

The starting point is a problem, not a product. An empty or neglected site needs a function and a story that give people a reason to come. A municipality looking for a recognisable attraction needs a landmark tied to the history of the place, not a random figure. If the goal is for families to stay longer, we combine play, rest, shade and seating into a single zone.

It is worth naming the goals from the outset: families, tourism, education, local identity, revitalising the site. These are the project’s goals and potential benefits, not guaranteed metrics, but they help make the right decisions about scale and form.

We design public pieces for people, not just for photos: for children and families, older people, tourists and cyclists, school groups and residents. Accessibility for people with disabilities, shade and rest, light and visibility, safety and easy maintenance all count.

Choosing the scale is a strategic decision, not just a financial one. We give budgets after a site visit and once the scale has been chosen.

Roles

Tenders and roles: when we can join

We join at any stage: at the idea stage, when developing an existing concept, when preparing a tender that needs a specialist artistic scope described, during the tender when we review the sculptural scope, and after award when the general contractor is looking for a subcontractor. We can work directly with the municipality, with landscape architects, or as a specialist contractor to the general contractor.

We confirm technical parameters and required approvals for each location. Where regulations require formal structural calculations, they are carried out or approved by a licensed structural engineer.

The difficulty is that sculptural and themed elements are easily described as if they were ordinary construction works. Yet a hand-carved surface, sculptural concrete or an artistic structure needs a description of materials, durability requirements, samples and approval stages. This is where we can help before the tender is published.

Example

An example approach: a concept catalogue for Rewal

For the Rewal municipality we prepared a catalogue of public space concepts: 71 visualisations and 9 stories of place. Each motif starts from a source, a date or residents’ memories, and each form answers a specific function: a road, a roundabout, a square, a park, a promenade, a bus stop or a viewpoint.

This is a concept, not a completed project: it shows a direction, not a finished piece. In it we recommend starting with a single high-visibility pilot site where the material language, user response and maintenance costs can be tested.

The catalogue also shows that one story can serve an entire municipality. A shared material language of sculptural concrete, GRC, timber in touch zones, mineral pigments and concealed lighting creates a single brand for the Rewal Coast, while local motifs preserve the character of each town.

The Rewal catalogue has the status Concept. It is shown as an example of our approach, not as a completed piece.

Key points

• Photos, a location and a description of the goal are enough to start.
• The site’s needs come first, then the form: not a catalogue, but a story.
• Choose the scale deliberately: addition, signature or destination, delivered in phases.
• A pilot in one visible location tests the material, public response and maintenance costs.