Local Youth Envision a World with the Lowline Below Delancey Street
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More than three years since the grand announcement, the $55 million Lowline initiative continues its push into the community, be it with grassroots events like gallery shows or ritzy galas for gold. Money keeps rolling in, and with the unstoppable tidal wave of Essex Crossing, the upscale underground park beneath Delancey Street seemingly has a halfway-decent chance of happening.
In the meantime, the Lowline community outreach rolls on. Like the ongoing Young Designers Program which culminates in a public showcase of student input. The latest event – “Shaping the Lowline” – launched yesterday at the Mark Miller Gallery on Orchard Street. As before, youngsters from various local educational institutions (Asian American for Equality / Lower East Side Preparatory High School, Educational Alliance / Manny Cantor Center, Grand Street Settlement, Henry Street Settlement Abrons Art Center, University Settlement and 14th Street Y) submitted dioramas and other interactive exhibits illustrating their visions of the potential park.
“Shaping the Lowline” runs through March 27 at 92 Orchard Street.
More about the program itself:
The Lowline Young Designers Program is meant to empower local youth to take an active role in helping design the future uses of the Lowline.
Through our inter-disciplinary curriculum, students learn the principles of community-based design: they interview constituents to assess needs of different groups, study the history of the Lower East Side, and learn how to integrate the needs of different stakeholders into their designs. The curriculum includes technical STEAM aspects, such as architecture fundamentals; the Lowline solar lighting system; and the future of green technology. Finally, the students synthesize their knowledge and begin to build 3D models of their ideal Lowline.