CARE FOR HUDSON SQUARE | URBAN DESIGN FORUM
Care for Hudson Square is a recovery initiative aimed at reinvigorating the Hudson Square neighborhood. Small and M/WBE design firms were invited to submit proposals for an interactive street installation that would help reactivate the public realm.
WE-DESIGNS’ Design Approach
To highlight the historic former “Printing District” that has formalized the current version of Hudson Square as a creative hub, our team at WE-DESIGNS proposes to use high-impact colors, patterns, and strategies to bring attention to the site. The design elements and colors of the landscape will be playfully chosen to emphasize food and colors. From the selected modular seating and potters, to the variety of organic plants, to the temporarily painted walkable pathways, to the culturally diverse curated food trucks, to the human “flex area” and dog playground, our proposal is to offer a multi-sensorial experience, used to attract the broader public.
To celebrate the outdoor and promote public life in one of the three-proposed areas in Hudson Square, our team designed a concept to enhance the physical design and reintroduce the area as an inclusive space and streetscape by providing:
a) durable and movable, but tethered, temporary outdoor seating and tables next to a newly designated food truck designated area. The ability to attract outside vendors on a seasonal and rotational basis would enable a diverse cultural and sensorial taste experience. Through different food cultures, this model could engage with cultural exchange in the public realm and make Hudson Square a destination for visitors and residents in and outside of the area to come to the area, especially, if they found out this is a “hot spot” for trying out new foods.
b) a “flex area” for active recreation space and well-designed modular playground. This to attract multi-generational members to the area to exercise and promote better wellness for both affordable housing communities to have more active outdoor space, but also market-rate users a place to do outdoor socially distanced group events, such as yoga, small concerts, etc.
c) Iconic and multi-sensorial colorful modular public art sculpture, and educational Augmented Reality AR hotspot. The sculpture would act as a temporary seating area, iconic focal point, and resting blocks for visitors, while the educational AR element will be integrated to tell a story about the historic and contemporary moments of Hudson Square.
Designed adjacent to the “flex area,” this multi-sensorial sculpture and AR element would be ideal for individuals who have smart-phones and devices who would like to take a selfie, with some added features that are only accessible if they were in the area.
A dedicated subsite/micro-website on the Hudson Square properties website would allow individuals to link to the AR feature. This feature would allow visitors to learn more about the area in a Mixed Reality (XR) world. Used also as a marketing tool, this would subsequently drive digital traffic to the Hudson Square properties website. Offering a chance for interested investors, after taking a selfie, to learn more about the retail availabilities with the real estate in the area.
d) landscaped dog temporary park, for small and medium sized dogs. To further engage with a larger population of a generation of individuals with “fur-babies”, this option could attract families of various generations to meet and make new friends through their furry friends.
Programmatically, our proposal is to prioritize pedestrian and local traffic, while highlighting the area as an inclusive multi-generational area and streetscape of cultural exchange, and wellness and healing area for both mind and soul –focused on for the low-density commercial and residential population and neighborhood, in and around Hudson Square.
As an emerging practice, with extensive experience in alternative means of fabrication, and digital tooling, our team has the experience to suggest low-cost, but durable means of fabrication for exterior use, including vinyl wrapping the seating, sculptures, and wiring the new elements for visibility for day and night. We would utilize the experience from designing our modular sculpture for the Asia Society in Hong Kong, and terrace landscape from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai, as a means of producing high visibility and colorful installations that are impactful and inclusive experiences. Meanwhile, we will use our experimental nature with AR and XR to highlight passive storytelling elements into the digital world of accessibility for individuals close and far from Hudson Square.
For more information – Urban Design Forum
ClientHudson Square PropertiesLocationNew York, NYYear2020/21Status Concept (Longlisted)OrganizerUrban Design Forum