A do-tank for the built environment.
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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)
