A do-tank for the built environment.
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DoTank:Brooklyn and Park(ing) Day
DoTank:Brooklyn will be participating in Park(ing) day this year. Park(ing) day is “an annual, one-day, global event, where artists, activists, and citizens, independently but simultaneously transform transform metered parking spots into temporary public parks.”
Take this photo for example; the photo is not associated with Park(ing) Day, but is certainly in its spirit, where a local entrepreneur has reclaimed a few parking spaces and used that PUBLIC space to sell local goods that can brighten up the lives of local residents.
It makes you wonder how much better this street would be if this market stand was here on a permanent basis… Ask yourself, what do we need more - more parked cars, or more local produce and community-serving retail?
In this vein of thought, DoTank:Brooklyn will be participating in Park(ing) day at a TBD parking spot in the borough of Brooklyn. Let us know if you have any ideas.
You can learn more about Park(ing) Day here.
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Please enjoy this video recap of Williamsburg Walks, 2010.
You’ll see how during this event we Rethought our Public Space by taking over the creative center of New York City (if there is one), Bedford Avenue, and turned it into a world class street for the world class people that spend time there.
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The faces of Williamsburg Walks.
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DoTank:Brooklyn set up shop at Williamsburg Walks to demonstrate the designer Shelton Davis’s DIY adirondack palet chairs. World saving ensued.
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One of the themes that ran throughout Williamsburg Walks was DIY. The event was a time for people to have fun, but by involving the DIY geniuses that inhabit Williamsburg, the event was also able to spread social good, and give the festivities a greater sense of purpose.
In these pictures the good folks of Spacecraft, are building their own bags. An important step in saving the world, no doubt.
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Wayfinding and signage for Williamsburg Walks. Designed by Ted Ullrich of DoTank:Brooklyn.
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Each block that was closed to automobile traffic for Williamsburg Walks had a particular theme. The theme for the block pictured above was the Childrens Block. The Childrens Block was heavily programmed, and included kids gymnastics, a water park, singing and dancing games, face-painting, and plenty more - along with the public seating and other amenities that were provided throughout every portion of the event.
Children are often overlooked when it comes to public space improvements, playgrounds aside. Williamsburg Walks remedies that by working with local partners to create a range of activities for kids. The kids activities gave a place for adults to enjoy the outdoors and for their kids to have fun, make friends, and learn how to become little tumblrs, among other things.
The kids block was a huge hit! See for yourself…
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Williamsburg Walks was more than just a simple New York City street fair. Williamsburg Walks was a thought-out community exercise that reinvented Bedford Avenue as a high quality public space, and gave the community a taste of what the future of Bedford Avenue, and greater Williamsburg, could be.
The sponsors and organizers of the event, which included your very own DoTank:Brooklyn, and the Project for Public Spaces, engaged in months of meticulous planning to ensure the event was thought provoking and that it provided excitement and intrigue for everyone. Some of the key elements of the event that made it a success included a public art competition, a diverse schedule of programming that varied by block, and an emphasis that this event improve public space for everyone, not just the gentry.
The following photographs were taken at Williamsburg Walks on Sunday, June 27, 2010. Hopefully they convey the joy and positive impact that this even brought to Bedford Avenue.
Aurash Khawarzad
DoTank:Brooklyn
(Pictured Above - Tom Peyton, DoTank:Brooklyn)
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A call for partners in entering the Build a Better Burb contest - with emphasis on the word BUILD
This is a call for partners in NY, and beyond, who want to work with us on the Build a Better Burb contest in Long Island, NY.
As you can tell from our website, we are not a traditional planning/architectural/design group. And as you may have already guessed, our submittal for the Build a Better Burb contest will not be a traditional submittal. We will not submit a bunch of renderings that may or may not happen when/if our great great grandchildren have the resources to make it so. What we will do is marshal our resources to improve the here and now.
Our goal is to work with local partners, the brightest DIY minds in the region, or any body with just plain ole ambition, to use this contest as an opportunity to demonstrate that we don’t have to wait decades to “fix” the suburbs - we can start the actual building process right now.
We want to partner with anyone who has the desire and ability to build a better burb; whether that means adding to the suburban transportation infrastructure, ameliorating its mental pollution, diminishing its food deserts, or addressing one of the other problems that the burbs are experiencing. If you’re interested, please send us an email.
Cheers,
DoTank
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