May 18 2018 | By Michelle Young for Untapped Cities
El-Space, a New Installation that Activates the Forgotten Spaces Under the BQE in Sunset Park
Above: Photo by Aaron Asis
El-Space was designed with input from the diverse local community through charrettes and on-site pop-up workshops, including work with students at Sunset Park High School and members of a Community Advisory Board. It was constructed with support from the NYC Department of Transportation, Industry City, New York Community Trust and New York Building Foundation. It’s the first installation in a plan to create more El-Spaces throughout the five boroughs which will be used to test and refine strategies for future permanent activations that aim to increase environmental health and enhance pedestrian safety for residents and workers at busy intersections under elevated infrastructure. The design tests strategies for lighting, green infrastructure, and urban design for replicability, aesthetics, and of course, how the public uses and engages with it.
The launch featured a site visit with NYC DOT Assistant Commissioner Wendy Feuer and Director of Urban Design Neil Gagliardi, Industry City CEO Andrew Kimball, alongside Design Trust’s El-Space Fellows landscape architect Tricia Martin, urban designer Quilian Riano, and lighting designer Leni Schwendinger (and many Untapped Cities Insiders who attended the event for free!). It was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Susan Chin, Executive Director, Design Trust for Public Space featuring eminent public space activists from around the country looking at elevated infrastructure.
With El Space now in place, the team at The Design Trust for Public Space will be analyzing it for sustainability and pedestrian safety, checking the effectiveness of the low light plantings in cleaning the air and capturing storm water from the highway above, critiquing how the lighting fixtures provide better and artistic illumination for people at the intersection.
Read more about it on Untapped Cities.
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