Feeling the public space

Urban Public space could be seen as a changing scenography in which society represents itself. Contemporary architecture, in particular, is based on temporary and multifunctionality principles which tend to deprive the public spaces from their own meanings, hidden under layers of symbols and information. Particularly in historic city centres, the identity of specific places is lost, as well the citizens’ consciousness, which leads to an improper use of space mainly caused by the absence of an architectural culture. In this sense, the ultimate goal for architecture is to be educative in explaining the reason why it was conceived. The question that arises spontaneously is therefore: Which approach leads the public space to a pedagogical dimension? A multidisciplinary listening, urban analysis and investigations allow to reach a historical knowledge. Then, by purifying the superfluous and highlighting significant elements is possible to obtain a contemplative dimension. Finally, the addition of a specific project stimulates the interpretation and so the comprehension of the place, generating a teaching of architecture, instead of through captions or explanations, through "osmosis”. Probably nothing better than art would be able to interpret and describe the society we live in and so the (public) spaces that define it. Art, in this sense, as Abstract Expressionism taught us, could help architecture in activating the subconscious of the user, who, through an emotional process, is educated by it. Artists like Daniel Buren, Christo, Joseph Kosuth, and the whole "Fluxus" phenomenon investigated the internal sense of art in relation to its social fruition. This process allows citizens to feel the public space and understand its potentiality, recognizing it, at last, as a common good.