All images from The Lowline and Dwell Magazine
The Lowline Lab - a Foray into Underground Parks
While reclaiming condemned buildings and lots for park and recreation use has become more common in large cities, New York is once again ahead of the game with prototype underground parks. The Lowline project is an initiative started in 2009 when James Ramsey, the owner of Raad Studio, and Dan Barasch, a creative entrepreneur seeking to incorporate art within NY’s underground subway system, met over a glass of wine. They decided to combine their interests of creating an underground garden via solar transference and public art forms into what has become the Lowline project.
Still in the prototype phase, the Lowline Lab seeks to prove that underground gardens/parks are no longer just a designer's dream, but a New Yorker’s reality. The above-ground discs take the sun’s rays and bring them down to drip down the domes that form the roof of the underground garden. This allows the plants to flourish in the natural sunlight and provides all the nutrients needed for humans and plant life alike.
I am excited to follow the birth and growth of this project as it progresses from Lab to reality in 2021. This is a wonderful new reality for the growth of communities and outreach in the previously un-reachable parts of the city.