Exploring the Practice of Community Placemaking | An Interview with Jennifer Bowen, Augusta Visitor’s Center
Community placemaking is not a new concept, yet today, cities are striving more than ever to embody the urbanist ideals proposed by 1960s trailblazers like Jane Jacobs and William H. Whyte: to design cities for people. With a record number of people estimated to move into cities by 2050, new programs like the National Endowment for the Arts’ Our Town program are propelling cities around the world to identify their own unique “brands,” strengthen “community identity and a sense of place,” revitalize local economies, and attract and retain residents, businesses, and visitors.
Today, Kathleen Allen, brand strategist at Gensler, speaks with Jennifer Bowen, Vice President of Destination Development of the Augusta Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, about how the new “Augusta & Co.” redefines the traditional visitors center experience and creates a unique identity for the city of Augusta, GA, serving as both a launchpad for an amazing visit to Augusta and a platform for the city itself.
Augusta is often known for one thing: The Masters® Golf Tournament. Drawing hundreds of thousands of fans each year from all over the world, the tournament continues to lend Augusta international name recognition. To know Augusta only as the home of The Masters, however, is to miss its story. Augusta & Co. goes one step further than a typical visitors center to create a brand experience for Augusta that showcases the city’s rich history, Southern hospitality, outdoor adventure, and maker culture, putting it on the map to stimulate growth and investment. Designed by Gensler, the space is authentically rooted in its unique local character, allowing visitors to feel connected to where they are.
“The overall design look and feel of a space influences positive emotions, which in turn influences positive experience — and positive emotions and experience are at the heart of engaging users, whether connecting employees to organizational purpose or shoppers to a brand’s larger mission and story.” –GENSLER EXPERIENCE INDEX
It’s no secret that many vibrant cities like Augusta are home to hundreds of creatives who design, craft, roast, stitch, bake, weld, brew, and build amazing products. As cities seek to avoid “the unbearable sameness of cities,” establishing experiential spaces that covey their local culture and authentic qualities is a trend on the rise. At Augusta & Co., local makers and artists are proudly put on display, helping to catalyze their business growth while providing multipurpose spaces for robust community programming and an immersive visitor experience.
Jennifer points out that it’s important for cities to look inside themselves, talk to their community, identify what makes them unique, and share that message with their visitors. We know that people today are actively seeking out more unique, mission-driven experiences; it’s important to find new, impactful ways of telling our stories to different audiences that embrace change and meet emerging demands. The most memorable experiences are often those that feel completely novel, or offer unique or unexpected qualities that surprise and delight. Ironically, many of these novel experiences are effective precisely because they still feel somehow familiar. Introducing a known quantity, then flipping it on its head, is a powerful technique for creating a meaningful experience.
Learn more about “Designing Cities for People” on Gensler.com. Subscribe to Gensler Design Exchange on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, Alexa AnyPod, Google Play, Stitcher, and Libsyn — or anywhere you listen to podcasts.
As always, thanks for tuning in!
