What is the value of the "third place" that can be seen only in the corona disaster?

Takahito Abe
阿部 鷹仁
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Takahito Abe

Osu.
Emergency Declaration has been lifted nationwide. This is a big step toward recovery. On the other hand, we are still facing difficulties at our feet. A physical store that walks with the closed economic activity regardless of whether or not. For those of us who have been propositions to create and revitalize spaces, seeing the arena being closed in front of us makes us feel bitter pain and sorrow, and at the same time we must update our values from the past! As if to say, it seems that the edge of the blade is pointed at me.

I think that various efforts are being made behind the scenes to break away from such a closed world. In the midst of such a situation, I would like to take a break from the series column once this time, and write here the swell and consideration that I can see at my feet only now. (Click here for serial article)

third place now

Neither home (first place) nor work (second place).

For me, it's a "neighborhood library" that gave me wisdom and ideas, and a "Seattle cafe" that provided a stable work environment with coffee and sofas. It was a “sports gym” that provided (*2 Pack is absent now), and a “midnight burger chain” that gave me a place to stay in the lonely fight at night. In today's overcrowded urban life, this function, which provides psychological comfort, has become indispensable.

While many stores were forced to refrain from going out, the place where the service was provided rapidly shifted to "home and the Internet." Meeting rooms are being replaced by web conferences, restaurants are being replaced by food delivery, and retail is being replaced by e-commerce. I can feel it.

■ Personal place map

Why? In considering this, I would like to take up some of the "third place alternative try cases" that have begun to be seen recently.

Case 1: Publicization of parks/third places
Parks are one of the most familiar public spaces. While places where it is difficult to maintain social distance, such as playground equipment, are being closed, there are scenes where individuals are trying to make it a third place while ensuring an appropriate distance.

Left) Remote work on a park bench / Right) Reading under the blue sky on a forest bench

Case 2: Balcony/Third Place Ownership
A balcony that is loosely separated from the room space even though it is at home. While it is said that the floor plan will shift from LDK to LTK (T: telework), it seems that its use as a third place that can be attached to the home is becoming more active.

Left) Telework balcony / Right) Play park balcony *The image is an image

Case 3: Virtualization of VR / Third Place
VR that allows you to trip to a virtual space while staying at home. Don't underestimate it as a video, the immersive feeling is getting closer to reality day by day, starting with the stand-alone "Oculus Quest" released last year. Furthermore, I feel that the functionality that allows you to jump into another world while staying at home has great potential as something that updates the third place.

Left) To the unexplored world with "National Geographic VR" / Right) To the rooftop bar with "VRChat"

Learning from the pioneers, I also gained new sensations through these reproductions. However, on the other hand, it is also true that it left an aftertaste that the appeal of the original third place was not yet approached. Why is that?

The important thing is the “harmony” and “flow” of the elements

In the past, when I interviewed a business owner who is widely developing food and drink brands in Japan and overseas, he commented that "three pillars" are indispensable in building a brand. The three are

1. Food
2. Customer service
3. Space

will be It is a simple and to the point argument that it is essential to provide food, which is the core value of a restaurant, but also the value of the people who deliver it, and the value of the space that serves as the stage. And because it is simple, there are a number of shops that have these vaguely,
How many shops exist where everything is “harmonized” and exists like a single “flow vein”?
And it was as soon as I was able to think about it again. Of course, third places are not limited to restaurants, but I think that "harmony" and "flow" are important concepts common to good third places.

For example, a certain cafe that I often use Third Place. Although it is a chain, it is operated independently from the parent company, and the shop is set up in a quiet residential area. If you try to decompose the three pillars there,

1. Food: Classic iced latte
2. Customer service: Customer service style that exudes individuality
3. Space: A clean space

That's what it feels like. Furthermore, if you overlap them with how you spend your time in the store,

"The standard iced latte that is carefully extracted right in front of you and poured into a large glass. While the beans have a solid taste, the cold and smooth glass latte is a great way to motivate yourself to work. It is delivered by a staff with a customer service style that exudes individuality.Although we only talk to each other directly when ordering and when leaving the store, the appearance of watching over the store from the counter gives me a good sense of tension that I don't have at home. The best part is the refined space that is not overly decorated.The sofa arrangement with a rich repertoire can be fitted to the way you spend the day, and overall, my head wrapped in a comfortable environment , I am as clear as I can be..."

Such a series of stories flows without stagnation.
If you compare that feeling, it can be said that it is a first-class French course meal, marriage itself.

In other words, I believe that the biggest reason why the third place is difficult to replace is the "integration of the place" due to this harmony and flow. It is difficult to express in a few words, but I feel that there is a logic that exists as an irreplaceable place.

What is the post-corona third place?

COVID-19 has unearthed an overlooked vulnerability in the city life that humanity has built.
Even after the request to refrain from going out has been lifted, the avoidance of the three Cs will continue, and even in the post-corona era, where COVID-19 has been eradicated, we will prepare for new virus risks and uncertainties, and places will not be crowded, but economic rationality and spatiality. must be implemented.

While it is true that the Third Place has functioned very well in urban life, it is also true that changes are required in the post-corona era. While I feel that the parks, balconies, and VR mentioned above cannot replace the third place at present, there are new possibilities that have not been implemented by the third place so far. may be lurking.

For example, if Uber Eats and outdoor brands are combined in a park, new value of stay will surely be created there, and if Spotify and AI coffee makers are harmonized with balconies and VR, it can become a new third place style. Maybe.
Now that various common sense has been shattered, I think that the third place can be updated to a more integrated form by taking a bird's eye view of the essential value and the value that can be substituted, and combining new functions, separate ideas, and technology. I wonder if...

Late at night at the bar that spreads beyond the VR goggles, I was thinking about such a thing. I would like to take a step beyond the post-corona third place and consideration.

Next time, I would like to resume the series column "Treasure Ambiguous Business Terminology".

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