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Painted over the stone pavement, a lattice graph formed of a 1.8m grid system guides social assemblages

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ABOVE Caret Studio’s StoDistante

ABOVE RIGHT Dropkick by ODO

of real-time kinematic (RTK) satellite positioning was employed along with additional sensors to ensure the accuracy of each drone. On a more functional note, many designers have looked towards urban infrastructure and sought to reinvent urban accessories that might withstand the virus spread. Sally Reynolds’ Step One was born out of the Bompas and Parr Fountain of Hygiene sanitiser design competition. Held in the early days of the pandemic, the competition looked to support the new hygiene standards on an urban scale with ways to normalise handwashing rituals. Like its title, the proposal is straightforward, urging a new category of infrastructure. Operated though a foot pedestal, the design is an uncomplicated ‘sanitiser fountain’ that could be widely employed in these times. Similarly, another infrastructural intervention by One Design Office (ODO) – a Melbourne-based design studio – presents potential in modifying urban facilities with a proposal to retrofit pedestrian buttons, named Dropkick. The backlit pill-shaped button hovers just above ankle height, allowing hands-free operation. The floor would be lit by the red halo which serves to enhance visual safety from traffic. For the cities beginning to be socially reanimated, new infrastructural propositions may offer a safer return. Painted over the stone pavement of Piazza Giotto in Vicchio near Florence, a lattice graph formed of a 1.8m grid system guides social assemblages. The temporary installation, StoDistante, which translates as ‘I’m keeping my distance’, is an inexpensive tool by Caret Studio to reflect the government’s social distancing rules. As policies are frequently updated in response to the virus, many inventions and design solutions offer a provisional solution. StoDistante is one such strategy – though thus far it has only been applied in Vicchio – with a flexible concept which could be utilised in many public spaces. The grid can adjust to a more relaxed pattern as the 1.8m rule is eased. This ‘urban graphic’ not only engages the restoration of social life but is also a visual representation of the policy in time. As one scrolls down the archive of Design in Quarantine, a coherent design strategy begins to unfurl – rapid responses adapt and readapt. Flexibility and improvisation are keys to attaining the new normality that we are all longing for. In this anomalous chaos, a disorderly archive is perhaps the sincerest record of our history.

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