You can watch the twelfth Parlour LAB here!

LAB 12 was a wide-ranging discussion in response to the topic of celebration in the built environment. Catherin reminded us that celebration is not wholly positive, and that important public spaces celebrate both joy and sorrow and are sites of ritual and ceremony. Important civic spaces should support a community of strangers by giving them the freedom to engage in the space and with each other. Catherin informed us that space for everyone cannot be separated from activity and engagement, and becomes meaningful through shared ritual. Michele referenced black feminist scholars who remind us that the labour of city making is care work, love work and freedom work. She reflected on her research where more-than-human activity in public spaces supports belonging and allows people to connect. She told us about children in a city working to save a bird sanctuary. One audience member reflected on the discussion saying,

“I think two of the most important items in design noted in the talks today were to invite all the parties to be involved in the preplanning and requirements for the 'rituals'/activities there. And involve the children whom will not have the strong biases.”

Key messages from the discussion about how to spatialise celebration:

Spaces that celebrate are about shared experiences in a recognisable form
Public space needs to support a variety of scales of engagement (from intimate and complex to large and open-ended) as part of an ecosystem of open spaces in the city
Australia is a country of deep suburbia and needs local spaces to support neighbourhood connection
Temporary events/installations/experiments develop a sense of belonging by enabling involvement from a large amount of people