Contemporary cities are often faced with the need to revitalise urban spaces that, due to changes in consumption patterns or social and economic dynamics, have become obsolete, underused or out of use. Amusement Logic takes an innovative approach to this need, that of giving a renewed role to urban areas in decline, whether they are disused shopping centres, abandoned industrial warehouses or empty tertiary complexes.
There are many options available to a city to create experiences that reactivate the urban fabric, improve the quality of life in neighbourhoods and at the same time generate economic value and jobs. These places in decline will therefore become centres of attraction for leisure, entertainment, sport, culture, fun and health for citizens.
The change of perspective consists of confronting obsolescent spaces, not so much as problems, but as opportunities to recreate the city through the concept of experiential urbanism. However, in order to define projects that give meaning to such urbanism, it will first be necessary to carry out an exhaustive analysis of the environment, population flows, demand trends and open alternatives.
Once the analysis is complete, it is time to design those strategic master plans that will completely reorient the vocation of the space. Where there used to be an industrial warehouse, we can create a leisure environment that combines gastronomy with co-working spaces and temporary cultural attractions, or a public sports centre, or a space for performances and events at the service of the neighbourhood in particular and the city in general, or… One of the fundamental factors of urban regeneration is undoubtedly the diversification of the offer, so that it attracts, throughout the day and at different times of the year, different public profiles.
Sometimes we will use “emotional design”, a craft to create affective connections between the users and the space. Or we will work on the historical memory of the place, with the integration of references to its past. Or we will give a completely new, even avant-garde character to the space… The idea is to superimpose layers of meaning and authenticity in each project. In any case, new information technologies and smart devices should not be forgotten in order to improve the experience of the neighbours and the efficient operation of the space.
Indeed, sustainability is a categorical imperative in new urban interventions. Reuse of existing structures for new uses, renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, recycled materials, green spaces… all these make redevelopment a responsible activity. In this way, spaces that had lost their raison d’être are given back to the community, now enhanced with a safer, more secure, more dignified and responsible life. This is, after all, a trend seen in the most advanced and conscious urban planning initiatives around the world. Collectively re-imagining a public space that people not only go to, but want to be in, share and revisit, is possible.
