K67

The Kiosk Shots







K67@publicplan-architects.com

The collective mapping project K67 - The Kiosk Shots, initiated by Publicplan Amsterdam, wants to show how the public space in Eastern Europe is determined and linked by the K67 kiosk design. The eye-catching street furniture traversed different stages according to the recent history. The unified functional design has been successfully spread within planed economy systems. Also it was providing space to cultural and political change. Nowadays, with Eastern Europe in social, political and economical transition, it becomes a prominent linking element in East European public space. By collecting as many K67-photopraphs as possible the project intends to create a dense documentation of urban environment in Eastern Europe.

The K67 design was introduced in 1966 by the Slovenian architect and designer Saša J. Mächtig. Its system is based on polyfibre reinforced modules, which could be used as single units or combined to large agglomerations. It inhabits the cities as newspaper kiosks, parking-attendant booths, copyshops, market stands, shelter booths, chip stalls, student cafes or lottery stands, easily visible and accessible, in different colours and combinations. The unified functional design of the units enables them to fit almost any location and its context as well as numerous, diverse functions.

The K67 kiosks are, nevertheless, in danger of disappearing from public stage. Statements by eastern inhabitants about vanished or vandalised kiosks confirm this worry. The aim of K67 - The Kiosk Shots is to revaluate the design and point out its extraordinary role in the urban space of Eastern Europe. By collecting and mapping the K67 kiosks -both, the original design and its several copies- this project will give an outline of the eastern countries in their state of transition. The K67 website www.publicplan.com/K67 brings together, at least virtually, the kiosks which are physically spread out over the whole of Eastern Europe, linking the most diverse urban spaces in Eastern Europe and rendering them visible. The project intends to show the individual variety and diversity this design product can bring into public space. K67 is significant component of a complex history and identity of the eastern European countries. With these countries joining the EU it also becomes part of a wider, common European history.




"K67 - The Kiosk Shots" - an essay by Helge Kühnel