What: Design-research proposal

Where: Brooklyn, NYC

In Collaboration with: Isabel Saffon

This project frames as a spatial design problem two widely-observed impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: social isolation and an elevated civic interest. ‘Spatializing Collaboration’ is a year-long public space design experiment, culminating in a temporary installation that transforms a parking space in Crown Heights. Constructed and activated during summer 2023, the installation will test how a small-scale public space intervention can foster enhanced collaboration.

Public space design plays a crucial role in shaping urban social interactions. As the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, it is clear that NYC cannot return to a pre-covid approach to public space. Equally, it is clear that we are only at the very beginning of understanding what opportunities and responsibilities this brings for design. 

Based on two widely-observed impacts of the pandemic, this project seeks to question the role of public space in constructing social infrastructure, post-covid. The first impact is the unprecedented level of isolation, where spending more time at home—first out of necessity and then habit—has meant fewer moments for social connection, but also, a burgeoning desire to replace traditional workspaces with less siloed, more local alternatives. The second impact is an increased interest in civic participation, which has compelled New Yorkers to find new ways to connect to and engage with their communities. In the last two years, as a result of ongoing social mobilization,  we have seen an increase in rallies, protests, mutual aid initiatives, and online groups, for example. 

The patent need for new spaces of social connection—both to alleviate isolation, and to accomodate, and bolster, an elevated participatory inclination—evokes radically new public space typlogies, and perhaps the transformation of public space design as we know it. Yet, public space design, so far, has not had time to respond. For the last two years, preoccupied with the decline of economic profit and an undeniable need for recreation, it has focused on presenting basic solutions for consumption and leisure—NYCDOT’s Open Streets and Open Restaurants programs being prime examples. 

As we transition into this new phase of the ‘post-pandemic’ city, it is imperative that we, as designers, explore how public space can allow this elevated desire for engagement and collaboration to play out more permanently. To that end, we ask: what are mechanisms through which public space can support more collaborative and interactive behavior, and how can we reframe our design criteria accordingly? How can our public realm become a genuine platform for different people and ideas to overlap? What is the material, spatial character of a space where people feel not only comfortable but compelled to engage—to contribute a desire or an idea; have a conversation with strangers; brainstorm collectively; teach and learn from others; ask for help; share experiences. And, if successful, could such a model be replicable throughout different neighborhoods?

There is much precedent to draw from. In NYC, DOT’s Temporal Arts, Street Seats, and Parklets programs exemplify how public spaces can be activated and transformed in a replicable, community-led and site-specific way. Nevertheless, when we reflect on collaboration, cooperation and collective problem-solving, we see an opportunity to explore an alternative design criteria, while building on the lessons learns and processes already established. Can we take the Parklets model and do more than sit? Can we leverage the Street Seats program to design a public space that foregrounds collaboration? 

‘Spatializing Collaboration’ is a year-long design experiment, culminating in a temporary installation that transforms a parking space in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The installation will be a prototype that tests how public space can foster collaboration or, conversely, how collaboration can be spatialized. Two community charettes, centered on public collaboration, will inform the precise design criteria and the final site selection. The installation will be constructed and activated during summer 2023, accessible to the general public. Though temporary and site-specific in nature, the intention is that the installation will be used to gather reflections and consider the opportunities for future replicability. 

In summary, this project threads together—and, critically, reframes as a spatial design problem— several impacts of the pandemic on NYC’s public psyche. The role of public space in NYC has been irreversibly transformed. Unpacking the design opportunity seems not only timely, but necessary for the city’s process of reflection, resilience and rebound. ‘Spatializing Collaboration’ evokes an inspiring space, a place where neighbors feel compelled to share individual knowledge and foster collective action. More broadly, the project is a design experiment motivated by—and in the service of—the collaborative, participatory tendencies that the pandemic has brought to bare on our city. To this end, we are confident the project will advance a critical design conversation as NYC transitions into the post-pandemic era.