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People walk in a modern museum atrium with large murals on the walls, glass railings, and a bright skylight. The cover text reads “AZURE” and “NEW LAND MARKS.”.
Current Issue

Fall 2026

People walk in a modern museum atrium with large murals on the walls, glass railings, and a bright skylight. The cover text reads “AZURE” and “NEW LAND MARKS.”.
#317
Fall 2026

Our Fall 2026 edition features new cultural and civic landmarks in Belgium, Toronto and Los Angeles. Plus, we explore the greening of Paris and the social ethos behind the game-changing residential work of Winnipeg firm 5468796.

2018 AZ Awards of Merit: Ideas/Prototypes

 

Public Square

As the numbers of vehicles in high-density urban areas diminish, cities will have to reclaim and repurpose the fallow public space left behind to create a rich, vibrant tapestry that’s tailored to humans rather than machines. Using the dimensions of a single parking spot as the modular building block, Public Square is a concept that proposes an incremental and interlocking tile system that’s flexible, easily deployable, unitized and infinitely scalable, from one spot to one street to a whole district and even city-wide. The footing of each square contains power and water infrastructure as well as WiFi and “smart street” technology. Each one can host multiple uses, from green space to retail opportunities.

Concept: Public Square
Firm: FXCollaborative, USA
Team: Jack Robbins with Ben Abelman, Sam Frommer, Carol Hsiung and Brandon Massey

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