London architects DSDHA have stacked more than 1000 orange boxes in a square in York, UK.

Called People Changing Places, the project forms a venue for performances, sound and light installations, and will be used for a conference in 2010.

It has been installed in Exhibition Square as part of a collaboration with arts company Beam.

More about DSDHA on Dezeen:

Pond Meadows Special Needs School
Tickle Cock Bridge underpass
Silver Building
Pottersfields Park pavilions

Here’s some text from DSDHA:

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People Changing Places

The collaboration that turned a city square into a giant interactive performance and forum for changing public spaces.

Aiming to encourage engagement with the arts, cultural space and public realm, ‘YourSpace’ a recent temporary transformation of Exhibition Square in York was the exciting culmination of a collaboration between architects DSDHA and Beam. The installation also forms the platform for a national conference to be held in 2010, funded by CABE.

The team transformed the square with an installation of over 1,000 orange boxes, and featured a team of performers and interactive sound and light installations. The general public was then invited to enter the huge orange gateway, interact with performers, draw with light, and, offer their views on public spaces in York.

Initially commissioned by the City of York Council to run a series of consultation workshops, DSDHA and Beam developed this flexible and adaptable process to establish a model for public engagement through the opportunity for formal and ad-hoc events, performances, and exhibitions.

The People Changing Places project explores the integration of art and cultural space into the public realm to reveal new journeys and connections feeding directly into York’s public realm strategy. It also anticipates the longer term ambitions of York Art Gallery to create a permanent outdoor gallery.

YourSpace will form the basis of a CABE funded national conference in 2010 exploring creative engagement in public realm design with good practice case studies.

Collaborators:
Performance – Pilot Theatre
Company Lighting – Studio Dekka
Sound Installation – Bright White

DSDHA

The award-winning architectural studio DSDHA was established by Deborah Saunt and David Hills. They have an international profile with wide coverage for imaginative urban and architectural designs. Their work blurs the boundaries between landscape and architecture, art and urbanism, and questions our preconceptions of the town and city.

Beam

Beam helps people make better places through learning and education, the promotion of good design, and the imaginative use of the arts in the public realm.