Project Description

Through utilization of digital media, Beyond Boundaries explores the diverse community of the Tenderloin District of San Francisco. By visually mapping the local area with community members from Hospitality House, the Vietnamese Youth Development Center and other local groups, and displaying the images in a prominent public space, the project emphasizes the dynamic interplay between the public space and urban context. The goal is to achieve an understanding of the inner community of the Tenderloin within the larger urban context of San Francisco. While the neighborhood can easily be framed by its negative characteristics, this area is also recognizable for its unique urbanity and complexity. The main objective ofBeyond Boundaries is to understand how this community is thriving in positive and enriching ways.

Digital maps and photography will acknowledge the interaction among different urban layers, recognizing the urban environment as a living organism through physical and abstract form. By utilizing GIS/Geospatial data, such as urban programs, night activities, land use, population density, ethnicity and public spaces, images will begin to merge and overlap as part of a distinct urban story of the Tenderloin. Working with local community groups, Beyond Boundaries will explore the Tenderloin as a resilient urban culture. Mapping and photography will be displayed as an outdoor video projection in a public space.

Team Information

Topographical Shifts is a non-profit design and research organization invested in the belief that design is a catalyst for urban change. Primary focus is public urban landscapes that bridge the gap between the different design disciplines and humanitarian needs. We implement landscape as the fabric that provides the structural integrity for the urban system. Our belief is in the integration of place and environment; this is shaped by the culture that lives there and the ecological habitat of the urban system. Through research and understanding of the urban environment, design interventions and strategies will be implemented that allow the system to adapt and change.

Website

Please visit Beyond Boundaries