The way public spaces are designed reflects the period in which they were created. However, in our globalized world of experience and images the desire for uniqueness tends to achieve the opposite: increasingly, designers of open spaces resort to the same devices and thereby distance themselves from the urban context. The author analyzes ten outstanding contemporary designs of public spaces in Europe in terms of their function in the urban context and what materials are used for their implementation. In interviews with the designers she retraces the changes of the concepts during the design stage of the projects, underpinning her findings with numerous sketches. In addition, her research focuses on how the projects were received in the community.