Public Space Design. Three Couples and a Trio

50 architects, landscape architects, designers and environmental leaders and educate. In articles, interviews, project presentations and manifestos, they join their voices and vision on sustainability, sustainable design, urbanism and architecture, to amplify a message of social, economic and environmental sustainability, embodied in their work. The contributing authors to this publication are part of the extended ECOWEEK ‘family.’ They have lectured and/or led ECOWEEK workshops in cities around the world. They share insights about their work - schools, public buildings, housing, rehabilitation of existing buildings, gardens, community gardens, environmental education, environmental leadership, and more - from the angle of sustainability and sustainable design. The purpose is to promote good practices by leaders, professionals and environmental educators from around the world, and to inspire others to pursue their own path to sustainability. Here I dwell on the relationship between bottom-up practices and the usual design way, in an attempt to put aside oppositions and propose, on the contrary, a definitive complementary convergence of different ways to conceive and practice design. For this, I rely to some duality, with the intent to remove the persistent nature of contradictions: Intensity vs Permanence; Risk vs Certainty; Public vs Common. Temporary and DIY practices show the benefit in trying to think design as a noble form of negotiation with places, natural elements and people, instead of imposition. They ask to think about how to comply with, support, follow people and places instead of control; how to welcome and not reject unpredictable facts, because life itself, likely, is unpredictable, dynamic, changeable. Landscape could be a good paradigm from which to learn. Among the other authors of this book: Kengo Kuma, Bjarke Ingels, Francoise-Helene Jourda, Diebedo Francis Kere, Michael Sorkin, Gernot Minke, David Orr, Robert Swan, OBE, professionals, leaders and educators, young professionals and students