Designed Urban Greens - A critical study of the experience of the High Line Park and Under the Crystal

Abstrakt

Recent examples of designed urban greens have changed the aesthetic language of green spaces within cities. Known as super natural, these designs do not look like na- ture. Rather, they integrate natural processes into design. By adopting a dual ontol- ogy encompassing phenomenology and vitalist philosophy, I argue it is possible to understand experience and immanence of these spaces. I present three arguments: Firstly, the experiences of designed urban greens are part of everyday meaning- making, providing people with a pause, potentially inspiring and adding value to their everyday life. Secondly, designers and planners acknowledge this potential but still demonstrate a disconnect between their intentions and actual experiences. Thirdly, this disconnect results in exclusive spaces that are not co-creative and open-ended as professed. I conclude that the designed urban greens under scrutiny, point in possible directions for future spatial design, but in their current form are experientially limiting.