![[images/Qp2zfpqogxU_thumbnail.jpg]] **Creator:** Studio Leonardo (Rachel) · **Published:** 2026-10-16 · **Length:** 11:45 · [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp2zfpqogxU) > *How can a place be well-designed but abandoned? Let's find out, shall we?* (from the video description) *Summary written from the TubeAlfred English auto-caption transcript (yt-dlp captions returned HTTP 429 twice). Data tables and site details come from screenshots.* ## 1) Detailed outline ### [0:00] A brilliant design that nobody uses ![[images/Qp2zfpqogxU_00m05s.jpg]] - The plaza cleverly hides the **ventilation for an underground garage** inside built forms that double as **benches and a playground** ("Playground inside a bench? Genius."). Yet every time she walks through, it's empty. - Thesis: **cool designs aren't the same as designs that work.** After 11 years in architecture and design, she has a simple method to tell a great plaza from a bad one. ### [0:31] The experiment: Rock Park vs. Plaza Yamaguchi ![[images/Qp2zfpqogxU_00m40s.jpg]] - **Parque Piedra ("Rock Plaza/Park")** in the **San Juan** neighborhood of southwest **Pamplona**, compared with **Plaza Yamaguchi**, 200 m away in the same neighborhood. - The measure of success is **how many people occupy the space.** ![[images/Qp2zfpqogxU_01m30s.jpg]] - Method: visit each plaza at **three times of day (11:00 am, 6:00 pm, 9:00 pm)**. (1) Observe for about 30 minutes: how people move and where they stay. (2) Interview users about what they think. - She jokes she'll be "greatly embarrassed" if Rock Park doesn't come out worse. ### [2:00] Red flag 1: no anchors (cafes or businesses) ![[images/Qp2zfpqogxU_02m10s.jpg]] - **11 am is coffee-break time in Spain**, and Rock Park is empty. - **Cafes** pull people in, and staggered opening hours widen the window of use. But once a place is built, there's only so much you can do to attract businesses. ### [2:30] Scale and shade: not the problem - **Rock Park:** about **1,800 m²**, between a **13-story** and a **15-story** building. **Yamaguchi:** about **3×** larger, with a 4-story building (5th-floor setback) and an 8-story building behind it. - Scale differs, but successful plazas exist at many scales. **Both have good shade** (no shade is a red flag), so both get a **green flag** here. ### [3:30] Red flag 2: how the edges treat the street ![[images/Qp2zfpqogxU_03m35s.jpg]] - At **Yamaguchi**, the road through the plaza is **at grade (same level)**, which tells drivers they are in a pedestrian-priority zone and leaves no barrier to entry. - **Rock Park** sits on **Avenida Sancho el Fuerte**, a much busier road (a barrier is fair there). But the sidewalk still offers no real way in. ![[images/Qp2zfpqogxU_04m05s.jpg]] - A **retaining wall that grows taller from east to west** funnels people to one small set of stairs and a ramp. The plaza works only as a shortcut. - Idea: **extend the steps and ramps across the whole frontage.** ### [4:30] Red flag 3: seating choice and a point of interest ![[images/Qp2zfpqogxU_04m40s.jpg]] - Interview footage (see the counts table on screen). At both plazas, people prefer **movable (non-fixed) bar-terrace chairs** to benches. - "It's the drinks!" Not entirely: in central Pamplona, the **Plaza del Castillo** is packed with fixed seating and no food, because benches **face a point of interest (the central kiosk/bandstand).** ![[images/Qp2zfpqogxU_05m30s.jpg]] - **People won't sit somewhere that doesn't face a point of interest.** Correction: Yamaguchi *does* have one, a **corner fountain** used mostly in summer. Adding something like a small (play)park could liven up the rest of the year. - Teaser: an even bigger red flag "most people don't notice." ### [6:30] Sponsor-style plug: the Place Lovability Audit ![[images/Qp2zfpqogxU_06m50s.jpg]] - She felt architecture school left her without a basis for user-centered decisions. Feedback ran "designer to designer," not designer to end user. ![[images/Qp2zfpqogxU_07m30s.jpg]] - Her product, the **Place Lovability Audit**, includes the interview and observation methods from this video plus a **Parque Piedra case study** for pitching stakeholders (link in the description). ### [7:40] Red flag 4: sightlines and safety (the big one) ![[images/Qp2zfpqogxU_09m00s.jpg]] - At **9:30 pm**, Rock Park feels "creepy," even though Pamplona is very safe. - Movable chairs let people face **two points of interest**, and one can just be **other people**. That's **triangulation**, maximizing sightlines to what's interesting (Yamaguchi before 9 pm on a Tuesday). - Rock Park's **high walls block views in and out**, and blind spots feel unsafe. The busiest paths are the ones with the best line of sight. ### [9:00] The results | | Rock Park (Parque Piedra) | Plaza Yamaguchi | |---|---|---| | People observed (day total) | **237** | **1,007** | | Social pattern | > half walking alone | **79%** in pairs/groups of 3 | | Staying | 4 kids played, 17 sat briefly | about half of entries sat and socialized on terraces | | Role | **Shortcut** | **Destination** | ### [10:00] The fix: a redesign and a funding model ![[images/Qp2zfpqogxU_10m00s.jpg]] - **Extend the south-side steps** to invite people in. - **Swap the clever playground walls for fixed benches backed by raised planters** that still hide the garage vents. With the tree shade, more seating and better sightlines draw people. - **Add a small food stall** as a point of interest with both fixed and movable seats. Over time a **bar** might open on the corner and reactivate that entrance. ![[images/Qp2zfpqogxU_10m40s.jpg]] - **Funding:** the plaza is **privately funded by the residents** of the surrounding buildings, and she's been told the plan is to **close it to the public**. She argues revenue from the stall and restaurant could fund upkeep, while closing it would likely leave it neglected. - Precedent: **Bryant Park** (NYC) came back the same way. **Yamaguchi**, also privately funded, is a local example. ![[images/Qp2zfpqogxU_11m05s.jpg]] - Closing: now you have the tools to present a design with confidence for your own town. ## 2) Things mentioned **Places** - Parque Piedra / "Rock Park," San Juan, Pamplona (the case study) - Plaza Yamaguchi, Pamplona (comparison, named for Pamplona's sister city Yamaguchi, Japan) - Plaza del Castillo, central Pamplona (packed fixed seating facing a kiosk) - Avenida Sancho el Fuerte (busy road beside Rock Park) - Bryant Park, New York (reactivation precedent) **Urban-design concepts (red/green flags)** - Anchors/active ground floors (cafes, varied hours) - Shade (green flag for both) - Edge permeability: road at grade, pedestrian priority, retaining walls, steps/ramps - Fixed vs. movable seating - Points of interest (kiosk, fountain, food stall) - Triangulation and sightlines; perceived safety and blind spots - Shortcut vs. destination - Funding and management models (private resident funding, concession revenue) **Methods** - Timed observation (three times of day, about 30 min each), people counts by type (alone, pairs, groups, sitting), user interviews **Products** - Place Lovability Audit (Studio Leonardo; studioleonardo.kit.com) - "No License Required" newsletter/guide ## 3) People **Rachel (Studio Leonardo).** Host of Studio Leonardo, a channel that explains architecture and urban design to non-experts ("no license required"). She says she has 11 years in architecture and design and is based in Pamplona, Spain. She narrates, does the fieldwork, and proposes the redesign. **Sancho VII "el Fuerte" (the Strong).** King of Navarre (r. 1194–1234), hero of Las Navas de Tolosa. The avenue next to Rock Park is named for him. Mentioned only as a street name. *Implied influences:* the "triangulation" and observation methods come from **William H. Whyte** (*The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces*) and the **Project for Public Spaces**, whose ideas were central to the Bryant Park turnaround. They are not named in the video.