mobile town square by spacemakers bikes into north london

mobile town square by spacemakers bikes into north london
images courtesy of spacemakers

a faux-brick box attached to a rickshaw bicycle and a collection of foldable, reclaimed furniture pieces make up the first mobile town square, which travels overnight and pops-up in cricklewood, a small part of northern london. working with studio kieren jones and studio hato, spacemakers, a civic design agency, brings the live installation to the public, revamping the modest township, which previously didn’t even have a single public bench. the movable unit is complete with bespoke seats and benches, custom signage, and even a hand-made clock tower, which references the smiths clock factory that used to exist in the area.

the innovative town square will move across north london from august 31st to september 28th, inhabiting patches of forgotten spaces and turning them into vibrant public spaces. the square will take the form of a civic folly, providing a dynamic program of events, from dog shows and chess championships, to tea dances and debates. many of the happenings play on cricklewood’s little known past, with film screenings on a car park roof referencing the area’s long lost film studios, and a DIY library where locals can read books by the town’s famous literary progeny.

the mobile architecture is hooked up to a rickshaw bicycle

‘the structure is both a practical solution – a vehicle to move the kit around – and a folly, providing a civic backdrop, helping to frame the spaces. cricklewood has a thriving community, but no space for this community to exist. in a way, I hope this playful solution can be the town hall that cricklewood never had.’ — designer kieren jones

visitors interact with the bespoke furniture which are made from reclaimed wood and tubular steel

the mobile town square parked at a store in the north london town

studio hato was responsible for creating the signage and graphics for the square. their solution was to come up with a DIY sign-making workshop, where local people could use stencils to create their own signs. a unique font, based on the standard british ‘transport’ typeface used on street signs across the country, has been created, and will be applied using stencils to pre-cut, temporary boards, with marker pens in official signage colours: blue, red, green and brown.

studio hato designed a typeface based on standard british ‘transport’ font