Urban Mirrors
Erik Herrmann
Yale University School of ArchitectureJune 4, 2014
Center for Urban History, Lviv
This presentation explored the evolution of two disparate civic spaces in Manhattan: Bryant Park and Times Square. The study considered several implications of screens in these urban spaces with a focus on the impact screens have on the perception of spatial boundaries and on the flow and trajectory of the public body. The study speculated on the future of screens, considering their shifting role in addressing the public via mediating personal screens and devices. Additionally, the project explored the evolution of two of New York's most revered public spaces and documents how key events in market and policy led to their current, contrasting forms. The role of public art receives particular focus.
What is the role of art in public space? How are new forms of media changing the way we use and consume public space? What makes a space truly public?
This research was originally presented at the Media City conference at the Trinnale di Milano in the summer of 2012 with research partner David Andrew Tasman. It has been further developed to include reflections based on the author's personal experiences in Ukraine since January 2014.
Erik Herrmann
is a recent graduate of the Yale University School of Architecture where he was awarded the Carroll L.V. Meeks Memorial Scholarship in recognition of outstanding performance in History. He earned his B. Arch from the University of Tennessee in 2007. In the fall of 2014, Erik will travel to Stuttgart, Germany as a German Chancellor Fellow of the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation. Erik’s work and writings have appeared in RIBA Journal, CLOG and the forthcoming Perspecta 47: Money. Erik currently resides and practices in L’viv, Ukraine. He recently participated in the CanActions “Revitalization of Telichka” Workshop, where he witnessed firsthand promising work in Kyiv to establish public spaces through the arts.