Interboro Partners

LentSpace

Manhattan, New York

2009

What can be done with a prime piece of urban real estate left fallow by a stalled economy? New York developer Trinity sought advice from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council on possibilities for its property’s interim use; the LMCC’s curator recalled Interboro Partners’ previous work on dead malls and a commission was born. The Brooklyn firm designed the half-acre block on Canal Street as something more than a temporary park – it’s an innovative model for flexible urban land use. LentSpace is a sculpture garden, a platform for arts programming, and a nursery for trees that will migrate to neighboring streets when the developer wants the site back. Encircling the site is a 7-foot tall sculptural fence composed of pivoting sections with built-in benches.

Accessibility, Community, Pleasure, Sustainability
1,000,000
120 days
7
Problem - stalled development
Solution - temporary public art park