We recently welcomed 30 elite industry professionals to Place Academy – a place making consultancy and training seminar, dedicated to creating extraordinary places.
It was great to discuss what Digital, Creative and Strategic place making can do for activating places, as well as working out those practical details for implementation.
Spread over two days, this training seminar was attended by XXXXXXXXX. The days kicked off with an Acknowledgement of Country, followed by three tailored training sessions; Strategic, Creative and Digital Placemaking.
The Strategic Placemaking sessions explained the need to have a deep understanding of a place and it’s people before beginning work on a placemaking masterplan. On the first day we explored how community needs, challenges and a unique vision are part of creating a genuine activation that will achieve sustainable change. In the second day, we moved on to a workshop where attendees were given tools to create sustainable place making strategies, by learning how to understand why place making is relevant; explore the different components of a place and why they matter; develop a strong and considered strategy and connecting with and manage stakeholders.
Our Creative Placemaking sessions highlighted the importance of art and creative experiences in enhancing identity, vitality, wellbeing and value in public spaces and communities; as well as the importance of a good creative brief. In the placemaking workshop, attendees ensured the longevity of future creative place making projects, by learning how to define creative goals and communicate them effectively; identify roadblocks & make them work in the project’s favour; write an effective & detailed brief and learning how to make projects happen with an art committee.
In our Digital Placemaking sessions we talked about how the interplay between the digital and physical worlds can be used to create memorable, immersive and transformative environments. Examples include using digital art, digital sculpture, virtual reality, augmented reality and digital interactive experiences. In the afternoon workshop attendees learnt how to put a robust digital place making strategy in place, by learning how to identify a digital project’s target market & goals; dream big when it comes to digital ideas & creative possibility; understand basic digital considerations, as well as physical and budgetary restrictions and use data before, during and after a project.
