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In June, Spin, in partnership with Better Block Foundation, City of Denver Department of Public Works, Denver Street Partnership and Downtown Denver Partnership, announced a call for the first-ever parklet design competition focused on scooters. Our hope was to attract designers, urbanists, architects, citizens and anyone who cares about safe and livable streets, to design and build an on-street prototype that blends the traditional parklet, bike and scooter parking, and bus shelter with placemaking.

We were blown away by the submissions — thank you to all of the applicants from across the country and world for helping us rethink how parking can be made for people, not cars.

Spin and Better Block Foundation are excited to announce the six finalists for the Spin Spot multimodal parklet. Throughout September, the finalists will be fabricating and installing their prototype designs in Denver with guidance from the Better Block Foundation. All the parklets will be on display for Park(ing) Day on September 20th. Judges and the public will award a First Prize as well as a People’s Prize.

Check out the six selected designs and find out more about the finalists below. To learn more about the competition, please visit: https://www.spin.app/parklets

Team Name: Charge, Rest, Go!

Description: “Charge, Rest, Go! brings order to the chaos of streets and sidewalks, seamlessly easing the tension between different forms of travel.”

Team Members:

• Lindsey White
• Alex Hobdy
• John Watkins
• Jessie Alexander
• Brent Spraggins

Team Name: The Hive

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Description: “Inspired by honeybees and the urban beekeeping movement — the Hive encourages community reflection on the interaction between nature and urban living. Urban sustainability is about putting people and communities first. The Hive contributes to urban sustainability through its support of new mobility options and landscaping choices. ”

Team Members:

• Anna Currant
• Renee Ho
• Manuel Lannaud
• Yelena Prusakova

Team Name: Hi, my name is…

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Description: ““Hi, my name is…” brings together friends and strangers into better conversations. The most powerful part of being human is sharing our stories with each other, and we hope to use the power of design to change behaviors by reorienting how we sit, how we face each other, and how we talk so that we may be able to connect more deeply with one another.”

Team Members:

• Gray Garmon
• Rickey Crum

Team Name: ParkLIT

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Description: “ParkLIT is a cozy, visually delighting urban lounge, creating excitement through exquisite details. It blurs the line between enclosed and open, with tall ornamental grasses and parabolic string art “walls” constructed from fishing line. ParkLIT catches glints of sun in the day and is illuminated at night by LED lighting embedded in I-beam posts. Juxtaposed vertical and horizontal slats, embedded into planters and wrap-around sofas, play with shadow and light — while giving a nod to today’s obsession with all things mid-century mod.”

Team Members:

• Bonnie Dominguez
• Nick Meltzer
• Anya Dobrowolski

Team Name: Pedal!

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Description: “Pedal! is a “ride up” coffee bar, here, a user rides up to the counter parking in a bicycle or scooter slot. When thinking of replacing a car that typically belongs in a parking space, it was important to think about the origin of parking spaces that are direct results of accommodating convenience. Amenities throughout the years have been sculpted around the driver not leaving the automobile, for instance, drive-in movies, car washes, and the drive-thru. When considering these spaces and actions, it felt imperative to claim some of the benefits and concepts of remaining in/on vehicle for bikers, pedestrians and scooters.”

Team Members:

• Johnathon Smith
• Zachary Wignall
• Laura Rodriguez

Team Name: The Urban Backyard

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Description: “The intent of this project is to demonstrate how a parking space could be better served as a transit stop that brings people together through leisure, games and nature while providing safe, convenient and organized on-street multimodal parking.”

Team Members:

• Michael Schmidt
• DuRon Netsell

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