Smart City Totems
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SMART CITY TOTEMS

Design thinking
for democratic use

When invited to Hong Kong’s Business of Design Week, Diadem took the opportunity to improve its signature Phantom Billsticker bollards with applications for all.

Diadem presented three concepts for how the multi-purpose bollard could evolve.

Client

Business of Design Week

On the
world stage

As part of Diadem’s involvement in Business of Design Week Hong Kong (BoDW) where Melbourne was featured as the partner city, Diadem was invited to showcase its innovative work alongside leading design firms.

Diadem used the opportunity to expand upon its design for the Phantom Billsticker bollards developed for the City of Christchurch, New Zealand. These had been designed following the city’s devastating earthquakes to store vital equipment for civil emergencies.

Phantom Billstickers

Three avenues
for the street

Diadem considered how these innovative structures could serve urban environments and become integrated within smart cities to evolve the bollard concept.

On the surface, these bollards appear utilitarian and commercial. However, inspired by the story of the socially-minded founder of Phantom Billstickers, Diadem explored three possibilities for the BoDW Exhibition.

  1. Safe Cities. For Phantom Billstickers in the earthquake-affected city of Christchurch, the aspect of safety was addressed by housing critical infrastructure.
  2. Habitable Cities. A new designed concept incorporated the hubs into temporary shelters, providing opportunities for respite in harsh urban environments.
  3. Citizen-led Cities. Diadem also considered how the bollards could serve citizens in a more meaningful way. This approach explored how to turn practical objects into icons for communication and collaboration, empowering people to contribute to their cities, and in the process, improving safety, convenience, health and the environment. Similar applications around the world have been shown to reduce crime, improve traffic and foster connectedness among citizens.

“We’re constantly looking for ways to transform inanimate objects into built form and give them a new purpose, particularly making them relevant to their local context. This enhances the community through use and contributes to a sense of place and space.”

– Matthew May, Creative Director, Diadem

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