Public Space and Placemaking—Emphasis on the Public

The Salk Institute in La Jolla, with its combination of concrete and granite perched at the ocean's edge, is striking in the tension between modern design and nature.

However, Blackson posits that the juxtaposition between what is modern and the natural landscape is not the only tension around the landmark building. There also is a tension around the idea that the Salk Institute is a private place with limited public access.

As extraordinarily as the Salk is, it isn't nearly as extraordinary as simple public space in the United States. Placemaking has a hierarchy of value. Less at the private, a little more to the semi-private, to the most at the public realm.

Placemaking is about tapping into the connection between public space and the community around it, something that is counter to a private/public project.

Writes Blackson: "The idea of ‘public space’ is a relatively new with its revolutionary genesis in our country found in Frederick Law Olmsted’s ‘Central Park’ and Yosemite Valley national park plan. While the Salk Institute is a powerful place, true public space is decidedly more powerful, transcendental and revolutionary."