01.
"Meet Me At Mott Street"
Temporary Public Space
Temporary Public Space
Year
2023
Role
Designer
Mentored by
Maria Linares Trelles
For my Design Studio II project, I explored the use of public spaces in Chinatown by street vendors and local retailers utilizing temporary furniture. The project focuses on repurposing waste plastics and fabrics from nearby businesses to create a new type of public furniture.
The versatility and lightweight nature of these materials allow visitors to "build and stack" the furniture according to their needs. I envision this project taking place every weekend, in collaboration with Think! Chinatown. By involving the community, the project aims to foster a sense of ownership and create a meaningful experience.
The project focuses on Mott Street, where fruit sellers use sidewalk space to showcase their goods using reused materials, including cardboard, crates, and styrofoam cartons, as their makeshift furniture. Inspired by this, this project tries to find out the connection between indoor activities adapted to outdoor public places using makeshift furniture while addressing the problem of waste abundance in the area. These images showcase my initial concept onhow the community would be able to use and interact with the makeshift furniture made out of modular components that can be easily assembled and disassembled without the need for specialized tools or expertise. This modular design allows for flexibility in arrangement and adaptation to various spatial constraints and user needs.
These models showcase the versatility of the "build and stack" furnitures, allowing users to interact and have a sense of ownership of their spaces.
I also started developing an additional concept for a modular planter to introduce more greenery to the neighborhood while serving a multifunctional purpose as a planter, compost bin, and storage container for vendors.
Site plans of selected areas in Mott Street as concept studies, showing how the concept applies throughout the street.
