Place-temporality - Gröningen

Place-Rhythms (all observations)

Societal Collective rhythms  People walking together  Having lunch/eating  Sitting on grass  Cycling groups  Playing  People talking to each other  Drinking  Riding electric scooters  People running  People pushing strollers Individual rhythms  People listening to music  People reading  Smoking  Standing  Painting (doing art)  Cycling alone  Skateboarding  Sitting against wall  Exercising alone  Lying down  Watching other people  People walking  People singing  Sitting on wooden bench or ‘design’ bench  Bathing  Looking at sun  Taking photos Cultural Dressage rhythms  Exercising in groups  Play on art  Dogs barking Public rhythms  Watching children playing  Playing sports

Rituals  Walking dog  Eating ice cream  BBQ Functional Service rhythms Maintenance rhythms Institutional timetables Physical Dynamic rhythms  Boats (Denmark ferry)  Clouds  Sea water/waves  Wind  Trains  Clear view to distance  Flags/banner (and the line)(at ice cream stands) Static rhythms  Street lamps  Smart garbage cans  Cement wall  Stones and lines in stones (colour)  Wood decking  Poles (for separation)  Gravel and dirt  Notice boards & safety info  Food outlets  Washrooms  Signs Natural Seasonal rhythms  Grass  Sun  Swans/Sea gulls/ducks

Sample photos

An image gallery with more is available at this link

Buying ice cream	Smart garbage bins	Street lamps
Children play while parents watch	Skateboarding	Boats/ferry

Place-Temporality Triad

Gröningen (from the spiral bench) 2019-05-16 from 12.00-12.30

Video with raw data from time-lapse, proprioception and sound

Place-Rhythms	Temporal Performance	Place-Tonality	Sense of Time
Societal			The scene observed from the spiral bench could be classified as slow. But other place-rhythms in Gröningen could be called fast, so speed was difficult to discuss. However, sense of time was clearly distorted, especially on a sunny day.
Collective rhythms
People walking together	R	T-hard
People talking to each other	R	T-hard
Drinking	R	T-hard
Riding electric scooters	C	AT
People running	R	T-hard
People pushing strollers	R	T-hard
Individual rhythms
People listening to music	R	T-soft
People reading	O	T-soft
Standing	C	T-soft
Painting (doing art)	O	T-soft
Cycling alone	R	T-hard
Watching other people	C	T-soft
People walking	R	T-hard
People singing	O	T-hard
Sitting on wooden bench	R	T-soft
Sitting on ‘design’ bench	C	T-soft
Bathing	C	T-hard
Looking at sun	C	T-soft
Taking photos	C	T-hard
Cultural
Dressage rhythms
Public rhythms
Rituals
Walking dog	R	T-hard
Functional
Service rhythms
Maintenance rhythms
Institutional timetables
Physical
Dynamic rhythms
Boats (Denmark ferry)	R	T-hard
Clouds	C	T-hard
Sea water/waves	R	T-hard
Wind	C	T-hard
Clear view to distance	R	T-soft
Static rhythms
Street lamps	R	T-soft
Smart garbage cans	O	T-soft
Cement wall	R	T-soft
Stones and lines in stones (colour)	R	T-soft
Wood decking	R	T-soft
Natural
Seasonal rhythms
Grass	R	T-soft
Sun	R	T-soft
Sea gulls	C	T-hard

Temporal performance legend R = regulated (predictable rhythms) C = circumstance O = occasional

Place-tonality legend T-soft = Tonal, continuum/background (field) rhythms T-hard = Tonal, indicative/foreground (outstanding) rhythms AT = Atonal, disruptive rhythms

The spiral bench we observed from gave a vantage point for observing a large part of the southern end of Gröningen. On other site visits, individuals were almost always seen on these benches relaxing and looking at the sun. The soundscape was somewhat hifi because the sound of the waves counteracted the strong wind. But it was much more difficult to hear the the other foreground (T-hard) rhythms over the water/wind mixture. If the goal of the visit to Gröningen was relaxation, this strong sound and also scent of the sea water may be a positive factor in this space. Movement took place to the left and right of the boardwalk and the speed of both was quite equivalent. This contrasted with the boardwalk’s stationary activities (T-soft place-rhythms) of lying on the design benches or walking slowly. Despite the previously mentioned problems with sound clarity, the experience of this visual interaction of moving/not moving was quite strong.

Using this observation point, it was more difficult to illustrate the clear distortion in sense of time that was noted through repeated site visits to Gröningen. This particular spot could be classified as slow but nearby zones (e.g. playground or sports area) were fast. The large size of Gröningen itself also complicated the analysis and even more iterations of this place-temporality analysis would be required to gain a complete understanding of the experience of this public space.

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