In crowded urban centers where space for parks and recreation is hard to come by, creative designers and city planners are searching for innovative solutions to the claustrophobia of our concrete jungles.
In New York City, the enormously successful High Line project gave residents and tourists a vaulted pedestrian pathway with spectacular views, indigenous flora, and distance from the congestion of the streets below. Now, designers are looking to create yet another unique public space – this time, below the bustle.
The Low Line project consists of a renovation of the Lower East Side’s abandoned Delancey Street trolley station, untouched for nearly 60 years, into a subterranean urban oasis. Designed by architect James Ramsey, the sprawling underground park utilizes a large system of mirrors and fiber optics to transport sunlight from the streets above into the cavernous facility, filling the space with enough natural lighting to even allow plants to grow.
The project is currently looking for funding, and recently joined the start-up site Kickstarter to publicly-source some of the Low Line’s budget.
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A gallery of architectural designs is currently on display at the Mark Miller Gallery until April 29th, but the project team hopes to debut a full-scale mockup at the Essex Street market this coming fall.
