Parsons school of design street seats 2019 returns with its pop-up public seating space giving new yorkers a fresh perspective on the Greenwich village neighborhood
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New York, May 16, 2019 -- Parsons School of Design at The New School presents Street Seats, a sustainably designed temporary public space for New Yorkers in the heart of The New School urban campus. The Street Seats program reclaims portions of New York City streets for the addition of much needed public multipurpose space that provides a safe attractive seating area for the public and members of The New School community to sit, socialize, and observe their neighborhood and NYC street life with a fresh perspective. In collaboration with the New York City Department of Transportation, (NYCDOT) the Parsons School of Constructed Environments has developed this year’s project for the corner of 13th Street and Fifth Avenue. The 40 by six feet space along the curb of 13th Street will include a generous number of planters and movable public seating that will be evolving during its seven-month lifespan. For those who have previously experienced Street Seat installations, the familiar folding tables and chairs are integrated into the 2019 design for a more seamless custom seating arrangement. Since 2016, Parsons has collaborated with NYCDOT to design and build a public park through an undergraduate elective class offered by the BFA in Architectural Design program. This spring, the team of 19 students started with 12 individual proposals for the park and then worked in groups to arrive at a singular design. To arrive at that design they considered who would use the space, the site context, and multiple environmental factors. The final design is the result of studying organic shapes and the juxtaposition of the urban area. The seating, tables, and vertical fences are made of naturally rot resistant Red Western Cedar and the red canvas that outfits the seats and tables, had previously wrapped The New School's water tower. The materials transparency creates a glowing nighttime lighting effect. The Street Seats 2019 team wanted to incorporate the element of strategically placed LED lights powered by solar panels so the park will be able to provide a halo, highlighting the plantings and recycled canvas. The day’s energy is stored in batteries on site and released at night through energy efficient LED strips. "We teamed up with Shayne McQuade the founder of Voltaic Systems early on in the semester to build a great solar powered lighting system, says Eric Feuster, professor and leader of the Parsons Street Seats and a professor teaching Design Build: Urban Public Space.Our lighting is more than a feature of the design, it becomes the design at night. The backlit canvas seats appear as a glowing volumes and the angled planters are all lit by strip lights, highlighting the native plantings and the park's strong aesthetic" A wide variety of grasses, plants and flowers including Early Goldenrod, Smooth Blue Aster, and Echinacea will be used to enhance the environment and provide changes in color throughout the growing season. |
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Parsons School of Design, founded in 1896, is one of the leading institutions for art and design education in the world. Based in New York but active around the world, the school offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the full spectrum of art and design disciplines, as well as online courses, degree and certificate programs. Critical thinking and collaboration are at the heart of a Parsons education. Parsons graduates are leaders in their respective fields, with a shared commitment to creatively and critically addressing the complexities of life in the 21st centur Founded in 1919, The New School was established to advance academic freedom, tolerance, and experimentation. A century later, The New School remains at the forefront of innovation in higher education, inspiring more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students to challenge the status quo in design and the social sciences, liberal arts, management, the arts, and media. The university welcomes thousands of adult learners annually for continuing education courses and public programs that encourage open discourse and social engagement. Through our online learning portals, research institutes, and international partnerships, The New School maintains a global presence. |
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