Outdoor activities and outdoor dining have been on our minds more than ever since March of 2020. One of the easiest ways to adapt cities to be more outdoor-friendly is the implementation of parklets. What are parklets? According to the National Association of City Transportation Officials, parklets are “public seating platforms that convert curbside parking spaces into vibrant community spaces” and are usually a “partnership between cities and local businesses, residents or neighborhood associations.”
*SO Studio would like to dedicate this blog post to Stephen Joseph Oats.
SO Studio was lucky enough to have designed one of Lafayette’s first parklets well before COVID was even a thought in our minds. We dubbed it Parc Banquette as a double entendre of a banquette in Louisiana French meaning sidewalk and a banquette is also a kind of booth seating that we designed into the project. What did we learn from this parklet? Well, it certainly is an affordable and quick way to encourage activity on the street. Since the parklet was installed, we have seen people taking selfies on it, eating lunch, and even playing a traditional Cajun tune on the fiddle (it is in front of Sola violins after all).
The parklet was sponsored by Oats and Marino, a law firm in the old Gordon hotel building. SO Studio designed it as a public space. Integrated into the design is seating, tables both small and tall, plantings, and even a lounge chair to perch upon for great people watching. The main structure is clad in a composite teak wood that runs perpendicular to the sidewalk. Woven into this cladding are vibrant blue ribbons of steel plates that create side tables to rest a cup of coffee or an arm upon and signage for the parklet.
Another lesson learned is that if we provide a space for gathering, people will gather. Which is what we want downtown, right? Our downtowns are certainly a place for culture and exchange. They are supposed to be a meeting place where communities come together.
Parklets are also excellent for outdoor dining, something that is needed for our great restaurants to survive these days but also something that activates our streets and makes them a cool and safe place to hang out. Here in Lafayette, Central Pizza, and Hideaway on Lee each have one and, we are currently helping Tsunami to build one. A UL Lafayette interior design class recently conducted a study on the parklet that will be located in front of Tsunami.
My one critique on parklets thus far is the question of how can we make them both more permanent and better integrated into the streetscape? I'm sure that with time we will learn how to best accomplish this. In the meantime, they will serve as an extension of the sidewalk; outdoor dining spaces, and public mini-parks that everyone can better enjoy their downtown!