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America 250 in Philadelphia
Praxis designed a plug-and-play catalog of installations organized across three scales — small (wayfinding blade signs featuring iconic Philly imagery), medium (a pretzel-shaped bench doubling as a planter and a fiberglass "250" play sculpture), and large (postcard-style photo-op backdrops with optional skyline elements).
Architecture Week
The session wasn't just a lecture — it was a workshop. Students got hands-on with an empty building facade, filling it in with shapes, forms, and their own sense of composition. Because the best way to teach design thinking isn't to talk about it. It's to hand someone some construction paper and get out of the way.
Coffee Monoculture
The coffee shops that will matter — the ones people actually mourn when they close — won't be the ones with the best aesthetic. They'll be the ones that knew who they were for, and made sure those people felt it the moment they walked in.
Vision Zero
These successes reveal a clear pattern: Vision Zero works wherever it is fully applied, even through low-cost, incremental changes like speed humps, narrowed lanes, lighting upgrades, and protected bike and pedestrian infrastructure.
Anamorphosis
Whether you’re combining letters on stairs for an inspirational message or using geometric shapes to frame an activated area, anamorphic painting is an inexpensive way to create head-turning experiences.
Pop-Up with Pop-Ups
We’re keeping our eyes peeled for inflatable, placemaking opportunities as this design strategy is one that aligns well with our ethos that public space should be playful, memorable, and most importantly, experiential.
The Architecture of Greenhouses
Consisting of a kit-of-parts that are easy to assemble and durable for outdoor environments, greenhouse systems might just be the perfect, unconventional tool for temporary installations.
Designing Joy
From patterns, shapes, and pops of bright color to abundance and multiplicity, joy can be a tangible experience of the physical world.
Ghost Malls
The once dead mall is beaming with life and utilizes the spaces of your formerly favorite chain stores for vintage pop-ups, dance clubs, magic shows, and art galleries.
Elijah’s Park
Having experienced Elijah’s Park in Baltimore Peninsula first-hand, I can tell you that the vibrant colors, organic design and functional flexibility of the sculptural canopy installation have lived in my head rent free now for over a year. In short, I’m obsessed!