Over and Under

Two Projects I came across, both looking at the idea of installations to work within existing transport hubs. Thought it might be interesting for some of us.





The first, an Olympic Sculpture Park for the Seattle Art museum by Weiss/Manfredi, takes the approach of bridging over the two transport routes, creating an elevated public space with improved views of Seattle bay.




While the second, Underspaces 1 by NL Architects, packs itself into the void present beneath the existing elevated car bridge. It incorporates a skateboarding "park" as well as more commercial units. It would seem to make this gritty underpass a much more populated area. More footfall would increase eyes on the ground and thus heightened "third party" security, displacing antisocial behavior that would have probably occurred in such a hidden sheltered location.

"Below a highway overpass that has split a neighborhood in the Dutch city of Zaanstadt for decades, you can now find a supermarket, soccer fields, a skatepark, a fishmonger and a florist, a basketball court and a car park. There is even a marina.

Developed in part through an open and interactive public design process overseen by NL Architects, A8ernA “provides a quick solution to re-establishing the connection between the two parts of the divided township whilst also regenerating a space that had become dead, literally and symbolically in the shadow of the flyover.”

From: openarchitecturenetwork.org