florescence.
ABOUT
a wayfinding campaign intertwining Hurstville's past and future, uniting the community and revitalising it's abandoned public spaces.
the brief.
Sydney’s south-west suburb of Hurstville is undergoing a major spatial change within its older public spaces such as MacMahon Street. From the ‘shared spaces’ project in 2020-2021 to the current ‘Revitalisation Project’, the Georges River Council is focusing on expanding and improving these public spaces to be multipurpose, accessible and greener with the goal to modernise Hurstville into an ‘urban green’ space that will improve pedestrian traffic and local social gatherings. To promote these new developments, the Council needs to implement an installation that will engage and encourage pedestrian movement into these renovated spaces.
the concept.
Florescence is a temporary installation and wayfinding campaign retelling Hurstville’s Anglo heritage and complements its shift into a modern, multicultural society.
To promote Hurstville’s upcoming new shared green spaces, the trail acts as a narrative space, connecting Hurstville’s history of greenery by reflecting on Dr Crakanthorpe’s greenhouse and exploring the Old English and Tudor architecture that resides in older buildings around the CBD. The semiotics embedded throughout this system produce layers of intricate historical and floral references that can be interpreted in various ways by bypassers. This is inspired by Hughes's (2020) argument that layering in designed experiences should account for various audience types and accessibility levels. In this project, the trail targets residents of Hurstville, particularly young people and families looking to find new places to socialise and explore within a local setting. Careful consideration of semiotics through a visual and tactile sense is, therefore, necessary to provide an educational user journey that can be universally interpreted. Exploring these historical ties to Hurstville’s current development projects aims to enlighten the target demographic with a new perspective on the streets they walk on and discover its multipurpose potential, driving increased pedestrian traffic and community engagement. By uniting the material choice and symbolism, the designed experience combines the past and future narratives of Hurstville to celebrate progress and excitement for its future.
