Challenge
The Lowline aims to build a new kind of public space. By 2021, a lower Manhattan trolley terminal that has been unused for over 50 years will be converted to the world's first underground park.
In order to involve the voice of the community in the development of the park, the Lowline partnered with Openbox to launch the Young Designers Program (YDP), which brings Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education and urban planning programming to local schools and community organizations. |
Solution
In March 2015, The Lowline partnered with Openbox to bring the experience of the YDP to life. Openbox concepted and curated Shaping the Lowline, an interactive experience hosted at the Mark Miller Gallery just two blocks from the future Lowline site. My team supported students’ imaginative creations—which included models of the Lowline illustrated with everything from hammocks to disco laser tag. Shaping the Lowline not only provided an opportunity to showcase the journey of the Young Designers, but also to engage their parents, teachers, friends and the larger LES community.
+ Experience Design + Community Engagement + Design Research |
My Contribution
In order to curate work, we conducted interviews with students and teaching artists, as well as facilitated brainstorms with the Lowline staff. I was responsible for curation of work of 100+ YDP participants, which included floor plans, 3d-models and multi-lingual essays. My team collaborated on a narrative structure that broke the space up into five themes: Making, Learning, Digging In, Looking Back and Glimpsing Ahead. I wrote the didactics for each section (pictured below) and created an anthology of the student essays (pictured below).
Results
The 8-day exhibit was free and open to the public. The work was featured in The Low-Down, Inhabitat, and Fabric, among others. The Lowline successfully ran a kickstarter campaign and raised over $200,000, which enabled them to open its lab space and expand the reach of the YDP to makers across NYC's five boroughs.
You can learn more about the Lowline Lab by watching this short film, which was produced by Opendox's partner organization, Opendox. |