Towards Proto Public Gardens

Student: Michele Bassi, Duowen Chen, Lorenzo Cocchi

Title: Towards Proto Public Gardens

Semester: 2015 Spring

Teachers: Hans Teerds

The focus of this elective design studio is what can be called ‘pro-to-public’ space, a collective space not yet fully crystalized. After a field research through softmapping, interviews and annotations, hidden aspects of the local reality of Coney Island  have been unveiled. 

The attention has been focused on the dialogue between urban collective gardens placed on the western side and the street life of the community around. Despite the proximity, each garden shows specific qualities. Inside structure, dimensions and ethnical composition of the people involved are always different as well as the level of permeability towards the public. The strategy starts from considering the most distinctive element per each garden and re-elaborate it according to the specific necessities. The  design process aims to respect the spontaneous aspects and the informal features of these collective realities. The final outcome is a toolbox of physical elements as well as a manual containing possible spatial layouts that allow people to define new scenarios for their gardens.  This concept doesn’t aim to be considered as punctual intervention but as an new approach that can be applied elsewhere in the city.