Architect Elizabeth Diller has revealed the "stealthy" way that Diller Scofidio + Renfro creates public spaces ? and disclosed how it was accused of corrupting Russian youth after an outbreak of open-air sex in Moscow's Zaryadye Park.
In a TED talk, the co-founder of the New York studio described how the studio managed to create an open space in central Moscow that pleased the authorities while allowing Muscovites to act freely.
"The park's liberating effect on a repressed younger generation was caught on security cameras," she said in the TEDWomen talk, which was recorded last November but uploaded to the internet last month.
"Government officials blamed American influence for corrupting Russian youth. But for us, this was a great sign of success." Diller Scofidio + Renfro designed Moscow's Zaryadye Park
In the talk, Diller explained the "stealthy, under-the-radar" ways the studio has created spaces that serve the public rather than commercial or political interests.
"Public space must be as free and abundant as the air we breathe," said Diller at the start of the talk, which is titled "A stealthy reimagining of urban public space".
"Architects must defend public space," she said.

Diller made the comments as part of her TEDWomen talk
Besides describing the studio's work on the High Line in New York City, where the firm created a linear park in the teeth pressure from developers, Diller discussed i...