Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
200 SQM
2018
Invited to participate in the place-making festival Playtime, we seized the chance to play with our city by making a temporary public space installation in an alleyway of the city’s central district. Inspired from the quotidian Ho Chi Minh city, where the perpetual improvement of streets relies more on people’s actions and ingenuity than on massive infrastructural mutations, our concept induced minimal design and physical changes to let spontaneous response happen.
Within the borders of the red lines, the public space was then furnished with hammocks. Global symbol of rest, they are also found along Vietnamese highways, where most coffeeshops offer hammocks areas for travellers to enjoy a nap. While the plastic chairs, a buoyant streets’ classic, are often associated with commercial activities, hammocks and their comfortable sight made a clear statement: this public space was for leisure, relaxing and enjoying the moment. The message was received by neighbours, passers-by and participants who came in and installed themselves while pursuing their discussions.