Volunteers and Networks

http://www.nyrp.org/Parks_and_Gardens/Community_Gardener_Program/Community_Gardener_Sign-up

http://www.nyrp.org/Calendar_Programs/Corporate_Volunteer_Program

http://www.nyrp.org/Calendar_Programs/NYRP_Volunteer_Corps/NYRP_Volunteer_Corps_Sign-up

https://www.nyrp.org/Donate_and_Membership/Buy_an_NYC_Tree

These links are the basis for what will be a plan for our base of volunteers/ worker structure.
I still need to map it out officially though. I hope it is okay. I will have it finished for when we see elliot though.

Quick sketch of how carts park together

Here is a sketch that shows an aerial view of how the carts could park together with the community boards facing outwards.

Work in progress: project brochure

Here is a draft version of the brochure. The top image is the outside and the bottom is the inside. It folds in three parts, so try to imagine what it would look like printed and folded. The images that will still need to make will go in the blank spaces. The colors may change depending on the colors in the other drawings. The text needs to be edited as well, so comments for that would be appreciated. And, of course, we still need a project title.

Title!

Hi guys,

We need to think of a title for the cart program! Any ideas?

Here is a list of words that we were brainstorming with in class:
waterfront
connections/connected
mobile
East River
carts
sharing
borrowing
beads
bridging/bridges

"community carts: connecting people along the east river waterfront"?

LIST OF THINGS FOR FINAL

List of things to do for FINAL:

1. 3D renderings of template cart with 2 storage views (spaces for fishing and gardening equipment; compartments for storage fold out from interior to exterior/ reference Katie’s drawings on blog for what kinds of things need to be stored, especially garden cart) GABRIEL

2. Beading map of existing fishing and gardening nodes and potential sites (show how they might overlap) GABRIEL

3. Diagram of how carts fit within existing organizational frameworks (volunteers and supplies) DAN

4. Storyboard of how to interact with cart (to go on side of cart), for community audience DAN

5. Storyboard that shows how carts are interacting with community, for jurors KATIE

6. Quick drawing of how the carts combine when closed down and parked GABRIEL, DAN, KATIE

7. Brochure addressing community that explains cart program in general (mission, services/supplies) KATIE

8. Website for presentation (mockup for program) ALL

9. Photoshopped collage of cart drawing on site KATIE

Online conversation for Friday's class

In lieu of the fact that we can't meet before Friday, I thought maybe we could email/blog back and forth our thoughts on Elliott's list of things for Friday.

"so things to have for Friday:
[1] ongoing conversation > clarity about what their design entails, what needs to be developed
[2] list of drawings [and maybe some completed drawings?]
[3] clear team agenda for working on Friday
[4] individual working definition of public space [4-5 sentences] - please email this to me before Friday am."

Here are my thoughts:
1. Like I said in my email last week, I think we still need to develop the form our 'mobile things' are going to take, as well as the plug-ins. I think we also need to figure out who would be in charge of carrying out these community centers. If we are thinking about having specific organizations, I have done some research related to organizations that could potentially provide volunteers or resources for fishing or gardening activities.
2. I'm not sure what other drawings we would need besides different variations of the mobile thing and plug-ins.
3. Any ideas about what we should do on Friday? Maybe divide up the drawings and each of us could work on their drawing in class. Dan, if you want to do a drawing not on the computer, let me know because I have lots of colored pencils and markers.
4. Public space is an arena where a variety of persons have the freedom to convene for different reasons and with different uses in mind. Because definitions of use are open-ended, public space allows for groups with different interests to intermingle and then create new uses. Public space does not have to be officially designated open space in order to be public; as long as it is free and accessible to anyone and used by a number of people, it is public space.

This is a diagram for my final paper that shows my findings that could be useful to our group design.

Sketches for 'mobile things'

Here are two ideas of how a fishing and gardening cart could be pushed by one person and one idea of how the cart could be 'plugged-in' under the fdr. Basically, it's a little wooden box that locks around the cart, which would be parked in a parking space. The same map that is inside the cart, which shows the route of the cart, would also be posted on one of the nearby poles.

Traffic map

I went to the site with the intention of mapping out car traffic flow in and out of the site and ended up mapping out parked things and boundaries.

Two diagrams

The first image is a map that shows the drawings that people made for my first paper related spatially on the site as well as their overall mood. The second drawing is a model for my final paper, where I interview current site users to explore existing social networks, which will hopefully lead to a more informed group design.

LES Ecology Fishmobile

Here is a great example of a mobile community center that doesn't use gas!

truck use flow chart

Truck example

Narrative...

On weekend afternoons, residents of the smith’s House gather to play percussion by the lower parking lot of the complex. It is like karaoke for percussion instruments. Amplifiers are propped on to carts secured with bungee cords. A sound track is played and musicians improvised their own percussion arrangement. Groups of women gather around them and sporadic dances emerged spontaneously. Another group of men are playing a dominoes tournament right side by side, jokes and comments are exchange between musicians and dominoes players.

The Music truck plugs in a Greek Theater style space that provides intimacy and shelter to the participants. The truck unfolds providing the musicians with amplifying equipment as well as extra instruments for spontaneous musicians that may show up announced. Chairs and tables are also stored for the dominoes players.

A similar truck with very different equipment, for the residents that like to garden, is plugged in near the Manhattan Bridge along side a beading of raised beds that cascades down stream from the heart of the neighborhood. The flowerbeds are use for spontaneous gardening and at the same time they retain runoff water from rainstorms. The truck is equipped with garden utensils, seeds, watering cans, gloves, soil, as well as related literature. Extra general literature is available for those who prefer to relax in a bench by the vegetable and flowerbeds.

Similar trucks plug in along side the East River waterfront providing stimuli to activities such as gardening, music, skate boarding, beach playing. The trucks acts as pollinizers of space.

.

more truck inspiration....

I found this little trailer, I think it is in spirit pretty much what we were talking about.

Individual Observation and Method using Hood

Using Hood’s methods from “Urban Diaries” for the East River Waterfront
Observations and Analysis

• The beach under the Brooklyn Bridge is a wasteland and dumping ground for litter and unwanted items. This space has a small door making it inaccessible for any person to easily embed themselves in the space or make use of it.
• The track for biking and running is situated right near parking. makes it dangerous for pedestrians and an unlikely path for the elderly or handicapped individuals.
• Visitors are mostly transient. However, there are those that read and sit on the benches.
• Under the F.D.R., there is little to no light coming into the space making it difficult for use unless you sit at the water’s edge near the gate.

How can the bus solve this?• Perhaps the bus can house a ladder/slide to free access constraint to the beach and rent/sign out beach materials and tools.
• By creating a ‘mobile community center’ or a fleet of buses designed for specific uses, it enables for easy transport for these disadvantaged groups to use and experience the space.
• Creating a library and book-swap program on the bus will allow for people to interact and build community.
• Perhaps the bus will have an awning and light fixtures that will illuminate the space when the bus is parked. This energy can be used from solar paneling which absorbs light in the daytime and when the bus brakes for this specific use.

How does this fits with our vision/strategy?• Through different services provided, we will amplify the activities the space is used for while also building community via methods of social interaction. I.e. - Hood’s example of children in the playground not using the physical structure-but digging in the dirt. By designing a space where, perhaps, there will not be a physical structure but more opportunity to amplify an existing use such as the sandbox- it allows for more interaction and community building amongst the children. Climbing is more solitary but the sandbox allows for more fluidity of imagination.

Truck inspiration...

Following on the idea that the truck "plugs-in", or leaves a trace in the space, here is a conceptual image to ponder by Allan Dexler. What would be the marks that our truck would leave on our site? Would the marks be equally as important as the truck?

river-front tactic

Better late than never...

here are some pictures of our group tactic at the East River. Dan, Katie and I, we placed a container with sand and sand toys, by the beach under the Brooklyn bridge.

We did it on a Thursday morning, around 9:30 AM until 11:00 AM.

-People walking by were very curious, they stopped by and observed Katie and I filling the container with sand. They were al very serious and looked puzzled by what we were doing.

-A group of women that were energetically walking back and forward, did not pay any attention to the container, but one of then sort of looked with the corner of her eye and put a very timid tender smile on her face.

-Another woman stopped by with her dog, the dog jumped down to the beach where Katie was. The woman made racial remarks about the other people watching-

-The three of us walked away, perhaps 50 yards away from the sand box, two young teenager girls approched the box and posed for pictures, they were laughing giggling and having a good time. Dan decided to come back to interview them, they reacted alarmed and walked away from Dan.

Here are some images:

Truck inspiration...

As I was telling you about the "kitchen in the closet" at 25 East 13th, 2nd floor. I was designed by Allan Wexler. I particularly enjoy how low key, honest it is. It is also very compact and it rolls as well as unfolding into this very articulated "work-space" as well as "backdrop". I can imagine different trucks according to the particular "node" where it plugs in. Gardening, fishing, etc.

So here are some images of wexler's work, I think they are fantastic.

Possible visioning narrative

A truck sits parked in the lots under the FDR. On the front is a painted sign that reads "East River Community Truck" and on the back is a blackboard and cork board. The day before, someone wrote "Soccer game in the the park this friday, 3 p.m." and " East River park weeding this Saturday, pick up tools here" on the blackboard.

A woman with a VOLUNTEER shirt approaches the tuck and unlocks it. Another volunteer arrives later and the two of them unfold the sides of the truck outwards into tabletops. On one table they place all sorts of gardening materials: shovels, spades, gloves, and compost. On the other they place fishing gear: tackle, rods, line, and even some bait.

At the water's edge, an elderly man fishes with a friend. The friend asks one of the volunteers in the truck in Mandarin if he can use the fishing supplies. The volunteer says yes, and in return for his ID (or signing an agreement) he rents out his gear for the morning.

The rest of the morning and afternoon, a variety of diverse people with different interests engage with the truck.

A high school student approaches the truck next with an arm full of books. "I'm all finished with these, could I exchange them for some different books?" she asks. The volunteers let her into the truck and she emerges beaming, with an arm full of new books.

A father and son talk to the man who borrowed fishing gear earlier and ask the volunteers if they can borrow some things as well. Pretty soon, the father is teaching the son how to cast a line into the river.

A group of women approach the truck and ask about the gardening supplies. "We have some plots up in front of the apartments over there," one says. "Would it be o.k. if we used these tools to plant some bushes?" The women rent out some shovels and gloves. One of the volunteers strikes up a conversation in Spanish with one of the women because they both live in the same building on the same floor. Soon, the women are headed back to the plots, tools in hand.

A man approaches with a stack of flyers. He is a local community organizer and wants to put a flyer on the cork board for an upcoming event. A volunteer unlocks the case for the bulletin board and he tacks up his flyer: "Meeting to discuss development plans for the waterfront," it says.

At sunset, everyone has returned their supplies and received their IDs back. The volunteers clean up and lock the truck until the next morning.

Boulder Space:

Here are points about actual logistics of the bus featured on Boulder Space. While their bus will be considerably different- their conversation about electrical and other technical issues should help us when we are designing our own. The renderings in the prior post are for this project.

8 Responses to “Special Transit’s Newest Line - Mobile Meeting Space”

1.
on 07 Aug 2008 at 8:46 am1Barb Borg

What a great, innovative idea! Love the contemporary design. I’m curious- how will it stay cool (air ocnditioned) and lighted- I assume the power will be additional to the bus battery(?).
2.
on 07 Aug 2008 at 3:05 pm2Sandy Sisneros

With winter soon to arrive, what about heating the space? How many people will this accomodate for a meeting? Will the heating/cooling be on an as needed basis or continually running? The design looks very usable. What about diesel fumes?
3.
on 07 Aug 2008 at 8:00 pm3Scottan

Barb,

We anticipate the bus being able to be plugged into the local electrical power supply, or run off of solar panels. The air conditioning will be a small unit with an external vented condenser. We are looking at LED lighting for general and accent lights.
4.
on 07 Aug 2008 at 8:08 pm4Scottan

Sandy,

The bus will have a permanent heating and cooling system.
I would anticipate that it will be conditioned only during its use and potentially setup on a thermostat. Occupant sensors could also be added to maintain lighting and air temperature in the bus as well.
It should be able to cool or heat quickly due to its modest size.
The bus will give off similar fumes as the current HOP buses that operate in the City. We would like to only us the diesel during the periods that the bus is in motion.
5.
on 08 Aug 2008 at 10:01 am5Barb Borg

Thanx for the quick response, Scott- this idea has me looking at buses (planes & trains, et. al) in a whole new way! I’ll look forward to keeping up with the progress. Barb
6.
on 12 Aug 2008 at 7:41 am6Boulderspace - Your Design & Development Resource » Blog Archive » Special Transit’s Bus Transformation - Call to Action

[…] MO.Free (MObile Freedom) continues to flourish, Special Transit (ST) is excited to unwrap some of […]
7.
on 12 Aug 2008 at 12:52 pm7Laura Page

This is a wonderful idea! What is the expressed greatest need for overflow space? The design presented looks to me more like an accessory office for one or two people plus a cozy area for two or three people to meet.

If, on the other hand, the bus’ most likely use will be for a group of people to come together for a meeting or presentation, a design that is more “round table” might be more appropriate. It would be a lot less “sexy” but perhaps more useable. If the design were more for a circle of people, the seating would be around the perimeter but ease of access would prevent a table in the middle. Perhaps chairs could be fixed to the walls with extensions that swing up for a writing surface. That would also ensure all the furniture was secured while the bus was on the road, something that needs to be addressed with the current conceptual design.

Though the space is small, the cooling needs will be great. The bus is essentially a tin can with no insulation. It transmits a tremendous amount of heat if sitting in the sun in the summer. It is also hard to keep warm in the winter. Equipment left on the bus when not in use will have to endure great temperature extremes.

Audiovisual presentations are common at meetings. To be successful, the bus will need to be darkened. Perhaps a window shade that runs the length of the windows could be stored in a tube on the outside of the bus. For darkening, the shade could be pulled straight down over the windows. When the bus doesn’t need to be darkened, the shade could project out from the bus, over the top of the windows, to shade the windows from direct solar gain.

Good luck with your project!
8.
on 12 Aug 2008 at 7:37 pm8Scottan

Laura,

Thanks for your extensive comments. You sound like you might be in the architecture/engineering/construction community?

In general MO.Free will be used as an overflow space for 5-10 people. The design currently has a step up in the back which would allow for a “stadium” feel to the space.

As MO.Free evolves we are advocating for people to pass the word. Updates will continue to be posted and, a
“lets build this” roundtable will also be held. Stay tuned to BoulderSpace.org

We have discussed constructing a place for MO.Free to be parked when it is not on the move. A freestanding “carport” with solar panels could provide energy + provide shading.

Design that makes a difference……

More Examples + Possible Rendering Illustration

Fun and Interesting Facts

Hey,

So what is interesting is if you look at this map:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/11/04/nyregion/mayor-vote.html?ref=nyregion

You can see that residents around the East River Waterfront- specifically around our portion of the site voted for Thompson and not Bloomberg- perhaps it has something to do with Planyc and the development plans?

This could have some tie to our research about the people we would be focusing on with our intervention.

Thought you might find it interesting.

-Dan

Sketches

Here are some sketches of our truck!

Examples of similar mobile community center projects

Jon Rubin, FREEmobile.

http://www.jonrubin.net/photos.php?x=48/FREE3.jpg

Anarchist ice cream truck

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/16/ice-cream-is-sold-with-sprinkles-of-anarchism/

Baltimore development cooperative

http://www.baltimoredevelopmentco-op.org/index.php?/project/mobile-planning-lab-for-south-la/

Group tactics!

We met last night and combined the most promising of each of our tactics into one mega-tactic!

The East River community truck(s)!

We combined our ideas of having a mobile community center, beading areas of flexible use under the FDR, bringing gardening and communication to the site, and providing fishing equipment rental into one, fun-filled, unfolding truck.

The truck is situated under the FDR in the parking lot and shifts its location periodically to serve other parts of the waterfront. Volunteers from the surrounding area would manage the truck during daytime hours, providing site users with gardening and fishing tools for rent, tutorials in these activities, and access to a mini-library/community-made archive. There would also be a board for community-members to let the public know about events and happenings in the area. Everything would be free; visitors would need to provide their name, contact information, and proof of residence to rent out the equipment.

Pictures for tactics

Tactics

1) Mobile Community Center
Truck/Bus/Trailer with equipment, books, fishing gear rental

2)Filtered water pool/separated beach within East river for clean beach access

3)cleansing/filtering system for healthier fish for Fisherman

4) Assemble your own Kayak/Boat area program

5) Under the FDR fish tank/ecosystem that provides an understanding of what the sealife is at the east river and the harmful effects of cso overflow are.

Gabriel's Tactics

Tactic 1: Erosion and Sedimentation

It consist of opening up the concrete wall at the waterfront and allow natural erosion and sediments to to re-build the shore line. There is already sand accumulation under the Brooklyn bridge. Rain water accumulates naturally under the FDR(perhaps as a sign of underground close-by water). Removal of all parking activity under the FDR Drive.

Tactic 2: Beading

By observing behavior and and traces within the site, a series of shelter spaces would be created, connecting up-stream and down-stream spaces and paths. These spaces would contain activities observed such as: music, gardening, domino, exercise, fishing, cooking, sunbathing.

Tactic 3: Refuge

Taking advantage of the sheltering effect of the FDR drive and on and off raps. spaces holding activities such as music, gardening, domino, exercise, will be crated reproducing the sheltered spaces observed up-stream.

Intervention outcome

Hi guys,

I went to check what was happening with our intervention after class on Friday and it was so sad! Everything was gone except for the container full of sand. A big footprint was right next to the sandbox in some sand on the path. Then, when I looked down on the beach below, I saw our 'suggestion' sheet! It had two things written on it: "Leave the waterfront the way it is!" and "Fun! Thanks!" Mixed feedback, I'd say.