Urban Senses, a reflection on public space
From May 21 to 24, the "Urban Senses" meeting was held organized by the Faculty of Design, Architecture & Art in which students, teachers and professionals debated and reflected on criteria on how the role of these three disciplines interferes in the public space, and the way in which citizens relate to and perceive the city.
This congress counted on the participation of several national and international universities, master conferences, thematic tables, interventions in the public space, awarding of a photo contest, exhibition "Heritage and Housing" in the Exhibition Hall, screening of a documentary, works of theater and workshops.
"Urban Senses" sought to explore the sensory dimension in images, textures, sounds, bodies, that make up the space of encounter or disagreement with the other, understanding by public space what belongs to all citizens and that should be used without any type of "Right of admission", which is not only formed by parks or roads, but also by the street, the wall, the landscape; Generated spaces for service, attention and interaction between people.
That is why design, architecture and art have become vitally important as expressions that shape the city, not only as guarantees of its creation, but also of the quality of public space, in order to generate vitality and security, and that public space be reaffirmed as a right with which the citizenry gets involved and generates interactive, creative, equitable and friendly environments with the environment.
The challenge of adding the forces of design, architecture and art was confirmed by the presence of keynote speakers such as Juan Sebastián Bustamante, part of the Urban and Environmental Studies Center URBAM of Medellín; Laura Zambrini, who directs the Sociological Studies Group on Fashion and Design at the University and Buenos Aires; Gabriela Eljuri, Ecuadorian anthropologist whose current research revolves around social uses and the management of patrimonial public space.
They also exhibited Iván Flucia, Argentine industrial designer specialized in the integral design and innovation of materials and manufacturing processes; the Ecuadorian research group LlactaLab, whose mission is to build scientific knowledge that contributes to the search for solutions to the great challenges of cities in the XNUMXst century; and finally Jorge Dubatti, critic, historian and university professor specialized in theater philosophy, who offered a magnificent closing by proposing to look at the city as a stage in which bodies are put into play and assume different roles and roles.
"It is time to put the citizen at the center of the creative process to explore and build new senses that allow healthy coexistence for the enjoyment of a full life." Design, Architecture and Art in the city are not in their products as objects, but as interfaces of relationship with human beings, who validate their existence, "concluded Genoveva Malo, Dean of the Faculty.
