Upside Down: Children’s Workshops at the Riponne-Tunnel Weekend

Reaching Out to Other Audiences: Youth and Children

The Riponne-Tunnel weekend on March 8–9–10, 2019, brought together a large number of interested people and thus allowed many individuals to interact, reflect, and share their knowledge and ideas about the Riponne-Tunnel area. As part of the workshops and activities offered, “Ville en tête” organized two types of workshops designed to attract new audiences and gather diverse perspectives: children and families who live in the neighborhood but do not attend La Barre Middle School and who regularly use these public spaces.

Let’s take over this whole square!

Over the course of two mornings, “Ville en tête” took place successively at Place du Tunnel and Place de la Riponne. The workshop offered activities designed to help participants view public space in a new light through sensory exploration (smells, sounds, immediate impressions, etc.). The drawings and quotes collected were hung throughout the square and made visible to everyone. Games, chalk, and balloons also allowed children to make the public space their own. These informal moments provided an opportunity to discuss, with the children and/or their parents or guardians, their relationship to the squares and their daily lives.

Tell us about your space!

At the same time, “Ville en tête” offered workshops (by registration) for children ages 7 to 11, inviting them to share their visions for the public spaces within the project area. A tour allowed the children, as a first step, to immerse themselves in the area and engage with current issues on-site, particularly by analyzing together the relationship between public spaces and existing buildings. Based on the observations and comments they made collectively, the children then drew up design proposals for the Tunnel and Riponne squares, exploring the connection between public space and the facades of existing buildings.