NYC Dot Subway Vent Furniture

NEW YORK, NY, 2012

These designs are the initial outcome of a conversation with the New York City Department of Transportation about the difficulty of providing planting along those city streets and avenues under which subways run.  Because the street-side portion of many sidewalks along these streets is occupied by gratings over void spaces for the ventilation of subway stations and tunnels, there is no possibility of in-ground planting of street trees and other foliage.  Although our initial proposal had been to actually utilize a portion of these spaces as below-grade rain gardens, after discussion with DOT we were urged to focus on furnishings that were at least six inches above the gratings and that were supported firmly on concrete on either side of them.

This volume is a second iteration of our proposal and offers a modular system, including benches, planters, trellises, and bike-racks that can be combined in multiple configurations.  We look forward to further discussions about the development of this project.

Credits: T. Giordano, Y.Liu, M. Pereira, M. Sorkin