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City Lounge by Carlos Martinez

City Lounge is an outdoor space in the center of St. Gallen, Switzerland, that has been designed by Carlos Martinez in collaboration with Pipilotti Rist, as a result of a design competition to create a public living room.

A red carpet flows all around the buildings, recreating places to relax, places to converse, places to park, fountains, even fake cars you can climb on.

It’s an amazing project that brings life to the city.

Photos by Thomas Mayer

Via Judit Bellostes

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Comments

very fantastic.

esraa salah, May 22, 2008 at 2:42 pm

Now that is a statement! Very cool. I wish we had something like this in Montreal…

M2JL, May 22, 2008 at 5:06 pm

just Amazing!!!

Nando_gt, May 23, 2008 at 5:29 am

Hi,

I wish that here in Lisbon they would think more about leisure spaces for people.
And ones that would look good like these.
Of course that it’s also a matter of people’s education in terms of living in society.

José, May 26, 2008 at 3:18 am

Ugly. What about those people whose eyes hurt when seeing so much red?

Tenka, May 28, 2008 at 6:22 pm

Looks cool but where are all of the people?

Schmantastic, May 29, 2008 at 9:22 pm

How do they keep it clean, especially after it rains?
It looks good now, but I have a feeling in a few years it will look dirty unless they have a crew that cleans it often.

k, May 29, 2008 at 9:55 pm

What happens if it rains? Is the furniture/carpet water resistant?

Erin, May 30, 2008 at 4:20 am

This is seriously cool! I wonder if this intimidates car parking…maybe this helps to decongest center town traffic? Really like the concept, bravo.

Jean-Paul Gagnon, May 30, 2008 at 11:45 am

What if it rains?how can they keep it clean,its bound to get dirty the more people go there.they must have a cleaning crew.

andy, May 30, 2008 at 4:35 pm

I think it’s kind of tacky. Red is the color of anger.

Carol-2, June 1, 2008 at 6:00 am

Oh stop it! It’s a good thing, interesting, colourful, tactile. I love it’s inside out idea. So it may need cleaning, who and what doesn’t? And if it looks shabby in a few years, well time for a change anyway. This kind of thing enriches life, delights young and old, what is better than a accessable and useable piece of art!? Oh and RED is also the colour of passion and love!

take heart, June 2, 2008 at 11:09 am

once “lotus” technology comes along, there will be many self-clean applications in public (and private) spaces. That should help aspiring artists to be even more inventive.

Mark, June 2, 2008 at 1:10 pm

we don`t get stuff like this in Canada. we just get tim hortons, `power centres` and wal-marts.

Shane, June 5, 2008 at 7:21 pm

very nice and artistic

farahat, June 5, 2008 at 9:12 pm

some people have too much time on their hands

sir jorge, June 5, 2008 at 9:26 pm

This would be fantastic in London :)

Last time they tried something like this here, they put grass on Trafalgar Square. Too bad they took it away after like 3 days…

Natovr, June 7, 2008 at 11:23 am

Where are all the cigarette butts and spit ponds? Aren’t teenagers allowed in the area?

John Smith, June 10, 2008 at 3:23 pm

Of course, it’s not really a carpet. The red material is actually a granulized rubber surface similar to that of a running track, and therefore does not have issues with the rain or dirt.

scott, June 12, 2008 at 9:46 am

Amazing!! i would love to go there! so creative!

Daniela, June 14, 2008 at 9:12 pm

wow…

elz, June 25, 2008 at 10:58 am

nice blog

paresh, June 26, 2008 at 1:39 pm

tacky, i quite hate it… to the person who said they want that in canada- no thanks- i like parks, grass and trees alot more the red everywhere!

robyn, July 7, 2008 at 7:32 am

Robyn, other than the power centres and outlet malls, all we have in Canada is open parkland. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some heterogeneity, especially in our urban areas? Considering the size of the urban parcel used for the Stadtlounge in Sankt Gallen, it’s a pretty effective and intensive use of space… which is a nice contrast to the unoccupied boulevards (with trees) that typify urban Canada.

ryan, July 17, 2008 at 9:53 pm

i think there is too much red on it that its now getting bad looking ..

john, August 30, 2008 at 7:38 am

honestly.. this design is truly a work of art.. im a interior architect student, this truly inspired my design.. solid grade man. GENIUS

Rome, September 2, 2008 at 9:38 am

It’s so amazing.. i wish i can walk around there..

fazai38, September 11, 2008 at 11:45 am

well
maybe it’s really interesting, but do you think having some problems if people look the red everywhere?

na, October 3, 2008 at 2:56 pm

It’s really cool…I have been seen that red carpet at some book…If I have a chance, I want to walk there!

Gg, October 7, 2008 at 8:00 am

Very amazing…What will they do when it’s raining?
I really want to know.

Pimrawee, October 24, 2008 at 11:20 am

That’s a bela intervention city planning. But we have to imagine in case that um carp , as a is done the keep he might give student desk. The contrast with the arquitetura of the prédos lathe something most interesting and as of decent flavor. In particular I find as the atmospheres urban I needed even as of breadths of integrating and recreation.

MARILIS GOMES, March 10, 2009 at 8:05 pm

Who feel very beautiful design firm. View and share ideas in the design no longer be the most vibrant color.

seovisitors, February 6, 2010 at 10:44 am

Bello!!

claudia, June 25, 2010 at 8:08 am

Awesome, love the fountain in the middle of this redness.

Industrial Design, August 25, 2010 at 5:48 pm