“We have skate parks, but they can feel grossly cluttered. The point is to be in a shared space, not tucked away in a dark corner behind an ugly fence,” says Ryen Motzek, president of the Mission Merchants District Association and a partner in San Francisco’s DLXSF skate shop. “The city needs actual skate spaces in public areas where people like to hang out. There’s a history of skating here. We wanted to honor that, and make it fun and accessible.”
In February, U.N. Plaza hosted skateboard lessons, a trick contest and an open skate session, and Rec and Park staff added cornhole boards and foosball tables this spring. An art installation by Charles Gadeken is now on display in the plaza, and free concerts take place every week at the adjacent Fulton Plaza, where a large koi mural by artist Jeremy Novy was recently installed.
The skate plaza at the Place de la République in Paris had similar DNA to the now-renovated squares in San Francisco and New York City: City leaders wanted to revitalize a public space with a fun atmosphere driven by physical activity.
In the 2010s, there was a strong sense that the Place de la République was being abandoned and that crime and homelessness were on the rise. In 2016, the area became a popular meeting point for a surge of labor-law protests, some of which had ended in violence, which scared away local residents, according to officials who were working to revitalize the area at that time.
Skate and surf apparel brand Volcom had just opened a store in the neighborhood and had recently collaborated with city officials on a temporary skateboarding activation at the Bastille plaza, so it agreed to get involved.
Architect Paolo Guidi collaborated with Volcom to design a permanent structure that looked as interesting as its surroundings. The plaza is a beautiful spot with historic architecture, so Guidi wanted to build something that looked like a sculpture rising up out of the ground. The project took a year to finish.
“We had to be respectful of the way people like to be on the plaza, to be able to be active but also sit, and also make the space inviting for girls and boys,” Guidi says. “If seven-year-old girls and 70-year-old women can feel good in a space, then it’s good. If mom and dad and the kids can come, then it is safe and it changes the way people think about it.”
Guidi is into surfing and judo, but grew up skateboarding. When he arrived in Paris at age 10, he got to know the city through skating. Today, his favorite movie is Dogtown and Z Boys, the 2001 documentary by skater Stacy Peralta. He sees himself as an athlete and an artist.