Knee: slapped. We got a real kick out of Chron writer Zahid Sardar's piece on "interactivity" and design in new urban plazas— namely, no other than our dear Minty Fresh (and Yerba Buena Lane, too). While the larger Mint Project is mulled over in fair detail, we found Sardar's argument for the plazas themselves absolutely riveting: "[The plazas] are interactive in the simplest way - you walk through them." Right. As for "our" chairs, they made it into the spotlight, too. (Strikethroughs courtesy your friendly neighborhood editor):
To get people to abuse the free wifi stop and enjoy the new plaza space right away - its east/west and southern exposures allow the sun to shine in - Patrick McNerney, whose Martin Building Co. owns several condominium loft buildings along the former alley, and his newly formed Friends of Mint Plaza nonprofit, provide bright orange plastic chairs knocked off by IKEA designed by Jasper Morrison. The chairs, as they are taken away promptly at 4 p.m. lest they be stolen get moved around through the day, stipple the simply paved plaza with random color. we didn't realize that our favorite seats in the city serve such a noble, non-profit, tax deductible purpose. Our cold, hard hearts have been made warm.
· New city plazas: Digital or not, interactivity key to great design [SF Chron]