New York City is one of those places where even built up places get torn down and rise again. But what about the city’s underground spaces? The Lowline project hopes to use a new solar technology to unlock the potential of the city’s underused spaces, below the streets. Specifically, they want to transform an unused former trolley station beneath Delancey Street. As the Lowline founders write, the terminal is “now just a forgotten slice of New York City history, we want to preserve this little gem and use it in a totally new, 21st-century, kick-ass kind of way.”
Sounds fabulous, but to do so they need to convince the city (and various agencies who all have jurisdictions over the space). They’ve already received significant political support and local businesses have supported it with the Lowline cocktail. But the first significant hurdle will be to check if the technology works. To do so, they’re launching a Kickstarter to fund the Lowline Lab this fall in the same space they held a visionary preview back in 2012. It’s already in process, and they’ll be installing three solar collection systems on the roof, with equipment shipped by ocean freighter from South Korea, and distributing that light into the dark warehouse space.
Then they’ll test what species of plants grow best in this environment with Mannahatta as their inspiration, and gage the social and community value of the Lowline, keeping the space open and free to all on weekends.
Check out The Lowline’s latest Kickstarter to see what the Lowline has done so far, their plans, and the creative prizes you get for supporting the project.
