In our advisory role, ƒ(𝒏) Architects initially held back from providing a specific pattern to sPark-It as the intention was to outsource and connect different local designers and stakeholders. However, despite support from the Mayor and ward councillors, after several sketch proposals had been ruled out due to constraints applied by LCC Highways (loss of parking revenue) or Merseyside Police (hostile vehicle mitigation), it became obvious that one of the biggest barriers to the sPark-It project intention was simply the lack of existing solutions or precedents to demonstrate the effective and safe deployment of temporary installations in the public realm.
As a solution, rather than creating a rigid 1-size-fits-all design, ƒ(𝒏) suggested a modular kit of parts. Owing to the budget constraints, it was imperative that the design could be achieved with readily available materials and could be easily built and demounted by laypeople. The kit of parts could combine into a catalogue of solutions to different problems and could be readily adapted or relocated as required for each installation.
A set of parklet modules were test-fabricated by Make Liverpool to provide a 3-dimensional mock-up which was exhibited at trade fairs in 2022 and eventually installed on Mann Island in August 2023 as a demonstration of the product and to test the robustness of the set.
