vincent wittenberg and guy königstein: public wardrobe

‘public wardrobe’

earlier we published the ‘streeeeeet bench’ by eindhoven-based vincent wittenberg and guy königstein, who have developed ‘streeeeeet’, a series of urban infrastructure designs based on the behaviors of residents in the municipality of bat-yam, israel.

in their research, they explored the intersecting-points between the private, collective and public spaces of the ‘street’. though ownership of space is important, many citizens do cross the border by claiming public or common space for their own private use – this behaviour is peacefully tolerated by the authorities and other residents.

‘public wardrobe’ in use

an interesting habit they observed was that the people of bat-yam like to collect old clothes they do not use and put them in a plastic bag outside on a fence or a bench, left for others to collect and re-use. they use the public realm as a place for exchanging personal and private belongings. as a response, the design duo have come up with ‘public wardrobe’, giving this custom a special place, encouraging the behaviour of exposing more personal items in public.

small hooks can be used for hanging plastic bags

observations made of how the residents of bat-yam store and hang personal items

photographic research

photographic research

photographic research