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This project was eligible for matching funds through WePlaza!

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Shade Structure as Public Art Installation for Pedestrian Plaza

Putnam Triangle Installation will provide much-needed shade and lights for all the old and new users of the Putnam Triangle Plaza.

Leader

Maria Nikolovski

Location

Putnam Ave 22 Brooklyn, NY 11238

About the project

Putnam Triangle Installation is a collaborative project of PrattSIDE, FAB Alliance and Pratt Center for Community Development.
 
PrattSIDE is a design student organization based at Pratt Institute whose overall goal is to regenerate and strengthen communities by building efficient and effective environments. This year, we received the Taconic Fellowship, a grant from Pratt Center whose goals are to promote inter-disciplinary and community engaged work among design students and faculty and community groups in need of our services. FAB Alliance, our partner on this project, is one of the 68 Business Improvement Districts in NYC. They work on enhancing the Fulton Street area in Fort Green and Clinton Hill.
 
When we started the collaboration on Putnam Triangle, we found out that one of the primary requests at the community meetings was to build a shading device to make the plaza more pleasant to inhabit. Especially for the group of senior citizens who gather at the plaza regularly for dance events or to play chess and for children's workshops organized at the plaza by nearby cultural institutions.
 
We decided to try to solve these problems by designing a shading installation that defines a new gathering point at the Triangle but also includes lights and thus improves the security of the area at night. It will also create a visual focus for the big open space at the Putnam Triangle. The installation is made of steel and rope with lights incorporated in a way that students and community members can install it themselves.
 
It can be easily adapted and reused or replicated in another area in the city after the construction with the permanent materials starts at the Putnam Triangle.
 
We would like to make this installation as effective as possible and build it in the full-scale we envisioned and that is why we need your help!

The Steps

PrattSIDE and FAB Alliance are working closely with the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) to modify the concept design shown. That means that minor changes will probably happen to the current design, but we will keep you posted as we continue to communicate with DOT.

We will also host public presentations so the members of the community can give their opinion and advice while the design is still in the process.

Once all the comments are implemented, design is done and officially approved by DOT we will order all the materials and start constructing the shade structure in May.

We will host a small public event to celebrate the end of the construction at the Plaza underneath the Installation and we hope you can join us!

 

Why we‘re doing it

Through the Putnam Triangle Installation project, we hope to show our school community and the local community, what strong design can do for all participants. We want to show that through design, we can bridge social and cultural separations and improve the quality of life, no matter the scale or budget of the project.

Pratt Institute has been in the area for more than a century, but the generations of students passing through it constantly change. We are doing this project to introduce students to the community they are cohabiting and to use our skills to contribute to that same community. Creating a pleasant public space that everyone can enjoy is a permanent contribution to the community. This installation will also incorporate lights that will contribute to the public safety that has been a concern in the area.
We are also looking forward to giving students a chance to collaborate with people outside the academic environment.

This is the main reason the installation is designed in a way that everyone can participate in the construction. We hope that the local community will join us in the building efforts in May to learn more about the design but also to find new ways to improve their space.

After the 11 month period of the shade structure at the Putnam Triangle, it will be reassembled and reused at a different area in the city to continue serving communities and improving the quality of public spaces.

$5,215.00 / $5,185.00