Impose

Impose - Transitory Public Art Project

Brad Comis, Sebastien Sauve-Hoover, Danielle Soneff of Threshold Art and Design with Jesse Sherburne.

Impose, is a public art project that explores the thresholds between environments. It took a critical look at the duality of lifestyle between public and domestic settings by superimposing one space on the other. By re-purposing shared public spaces, we explored the commonalities and differences between how we use our urban spaces.

The project installed three treehouses in downtown Edmonton: Two in Churchill Square and one in Peter MacDonnell Memorial Park. The installation remained for six months. This work highlighted the nature of private suburban environments by contrasting them against the backdrop of shared public spaces. The three distinct architectural styles reflect the variety of North American childhood lifestyles. Throughout the day, periodic sounds of domestic life were emitted from within the treehouses. At night, they evolved again with illumination. Viewers could project their perspectives and histories on this iconic North American childhood symbol.

National Urban Design Awards — 2016 Recipient

JURY COMMENT(S): 

"This is a playful and provocative design. It is accessible and evokes thoughts of human habitat and urban wildlife while connecting to the built fabric. The designs of the tree houses relate to architecture styles from surrounding neighbourhoods and serve to inform the public about the diversity and history of form and style in single-family home architecture. The result is an engaging and thought-provoking project that has the potential to contribute to public discourse on urban design. The research and execution are impressive and multi-faceted. The design detail is commendable as are the simple yet powerful gestures of light and domestic sounds emanating from the birdhouses in the evenings."

City of Edmonton Urban Design Awards - 2015 Recipient

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