HAIKU TRAFFIC SAFETY
With ubiquity comes invisibility. And words can be arranged with the same economy and elegance as high quality graphic design. These two precepts are the inspiration behind the DOT’s latest spate of traffic signs. By combining a little bit of poetry with…
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On the eve of his departure from New York, the outgoing manager of public art for the Times Square Alliance discusses community engagement, urban placemaking and contemporary art practice at the iconic site. |
TIMES SQUARE PLAZAS MADE PERMANENT
On Tuesday, September 27, Manhattan’s Community Board 5 met with Craig Dykers of Snøhetta to review their plans for the Times Square pedestrian plazas of the not-so-distant future. No more lawn chairs, no more paint as marker for where the car space ends. The plan calls for a leveling of the streets and curbs, to create a continuous pedestrian surface of dark concrete. Inlaid into the pavers will be steel rivets to reflect the bright lights of the big city. Benches and street furniture…
MEET ME IN A BOWL
Times Square is now host to an outdoor urban furniture installation titled “Meeting Bowls,” created in partnership with the Times Square Alliance and design firm mmmm… The Meeting Bowls are three, 8-person, slatted bowls (highly reminiscent of salad spinners), which are meant to offer a place for intimate social experiences in the midst of one of the city’s busiest spaces. The…
CRUISE SHIPS TO PLUG-IN AT RED HOOK
The New York Times City Room reports that the Queen Mary 2 and other large ships will be required to plug in to giant electrical sockets in the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal starting in 2012. This marks a major win for the residents of Red Hook, who have been fighting…
Calling all architects, designers and artists! Now that the city has made the Times Square pedestrian plazas permanent, the Department of Transportation is launching a design competition to “refresh” the existing temporary treatments while the longer, separate process begins to …
Midtown loungers and lunchers rejoice! Despite rumors last week that the Broadway pedestrian plazas had not met expectations, this week city officials announced that the partial closure of seven city blocks to autos will be permanent. Traffic congestion …
Approximately one million people trample through Times Square everyday – some incessantly pausing to snap pictures of all the chaos while others beeline without ever looking up. On November 11 at 2pm on the corner of 46th and Broadway, Tony Conrad, clad in a neon green T-shirt, used a power drill to open a wooden box half his size that featured a wooden lever, a doorbell, and a sound hole.
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Interactive design student Sara Bremen investigates the NYC Info Center, designed by WXY and Local Projects, and some of its implications for information design, geographic awareness, and the shifting distinction between tourist and local. |
