CREJ

March 2021 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \ 21 Learn more at henselphelps.com The Space Between while restoring an ecosystem. An area's cultural identity also should be an important driver in design. In our Ogden and Denver’s River North Art District work, the maker mentality actively drove design throughout. In Ogden, this meant finding opportunities for people tobeable toaffect changewithinthe space. It led toan art infrastructure system that could host performances and static art in a variety of capacities. We also layered in myriad spatial conditions into a relatively small space, allowing in- dividuals and groups to select their own experience. In RiNo, where individual expression is so important, our team built a framework for several streetscape corridors that ensured basic amenities and spaces proliferated, while allowing for individual properties to express unique needs and attitudes. In both examples the public realm becomes a canvas that al- lows for community culture to inform both its permanence and temporal experiences. • Craft. Creating flexible spaces does not mean a blank- slate flat plaza, nor nondesign. On the contrary, flexibility is embedded in design through details. Making an armature for public expression in many forms requires thought and rigor that often goes unappreciated. If context and culture are the foundation andwalls of the public realm, then the craft is the roof. Youneed all three to construct the house. At the Dumke Arts Plaza in Ogden, Utah Sasaki was tasked with creating “something no one has ever seen, yet” while also designing a plaza that someone would feel comfortable using for a lunchbreak. This duality of need led to the formof the plaza. A series of foldedplanesmoves visitors through the plaza and terminates at a 10-foot-high plynth. A flexible space means that during both large and small events, for daily activities and for sporadic occasions, the space functions and feels inviting. This can often be seen as an “either-or” situation but should be thought of as a “both, and” opportunity. Theendgoal of all public space shouldbe to provide a platform for the rhythms of life to unfold. As such, intentionally crafting a space to be rooted in its context and express the very nature of the public’s culture is, in our opin- ion, the onlyway to design. \\ The plynth envisioned for Dunke Arts Plaza in Ogden, Utah, visually connects people to the incredible views of the Wasatch mountains while providing structural support for large sculptures and electri- cal support for performances.