Engaging Public Light: Social Design Strategies for the Pedestrian Nightscape by James Clotfelter

ENGAGING PUBLIC LIGHT: Social Design Strategies for the Pedestrian Nightscape

James Clotfelter MFA Transdisciplinary Design + MFA Lighting Design Parsons The New School for Design 2015

“…we need an environment which is not simply well organized, but poetic and symbolic as well. It should speak of the individuals and their complex society, of their aspirations and their historical tradition, of the natural setting, and the complicated functions and movements of the city world.“ - Kevin Lynch, The Image of the City

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS What a ride it has been. As the first dual degree in Transdisciplinary Design and Lighting Design, I must give a special thank you to Derek Porter whose vision, support and friendship made this journey possible. Derek was instrumental in helping to craft this experiment and for that I am immensely grateful. Thank you also to Glenn Shrum for jumping in midway and continuing the positivity and momentum and to Brian McGrath for his encouragement and support of my movement research. To Jamer Hunt and Patricia Beirne, thank you for your patience and your willingness to foray into the darkness with me. The balance and perspective you helped me find brought great value to the project. To Nathalie Rozot, Brooke Carter, and Peter Wheelright, thank you for the constant barrage of inspiration and for always pushing me to work with strength and clarity. I must especially thank my thesis advisor, Alexa Griffith Winton, for her keen interest and poignant feedback throughout my time at Parsons. To the faculty, staff and my student peers at Parsons, none of this would have been remotely conceivable without you. Finally, to my wife Kristin, whose enthusiasm, understanding, patience and undying support gave me the confidence to take risks and follow my heart. I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe you were so awesome and so loving, every single day of this three year insanity. I dedicate all of this to you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract 1 Thesis Statement 3 Preface 7 Methodologies of Practice 8 Intervening Through Design 10 Defining Engagement 13 Lighting Components Of Public Space 17 Project Context 22 Precedents and Lessons 25 Action Research 32 Criteria For Intervention 37 Case Studies 40 Critique and Conclusion 51 References 55 Appendix A - Organizational Typologies 60 B - Moving to Design Workshop 65 C - Theory of Change 70 D - Light Object Construction Details 74

ENGAGING PUBLIC LIGHT: Social Design Strategies for the Pedestrian Nightscape

ABSTRACT Engaging Public Light investigates participatory and community engaged activities that provoke dialogue about public space in order to better inform socially conscious design strategies. Contrary to a typical project that is driven by a team of established design practitioners, this thesis employs a transdisciplinary practice where every stakeholder, from the designer to the city planner to the expected user, has an opportunity to participate and inform the project’s evolution. The research was conducted in collaboration with movement practitioners, community members and designers from other fields and uses light and tactility as the central languages of communication. It employs movement as an empathetic means of research and the accessibility of human-scaled objects to literally put light into the community’s hands. The thesis positions light on a small and responsive scale so that it can be experienced not as a fixed element of institutional infrastructure but as a reflection of local values and communal identity. A series of documented interventions explore this idea as it relates to public parks, public housing developments and the shared city street. A quality of light that enables true engagement between people and the public spaces they share will promote healthier, happier and stronger communities.

“Friday Night Lights,” Anita Stroud Park, Charlotte, NC, March 2015 No Barriers Project Knight Foundation Civic Design Fellowship In collaboration with Parsons, IDEO and the City of Charlotte, NC

THESIS STATEMENT Light is one of the biggest determinants in our nighttime engagement with public space and its social implications are too often taken for granted. Participatory investments in these shared environments contribute directly to a communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well being and lighting is integral to that experience. Through its organization and quality, it communicates atmosphere, access and variations of programming. Socially, it supports community gathering and facilitates new opportunities for interaction. However, access to public space at night can be hampered by an inability to navigate or the fear of what cannot be seen. City code and design guidelines address this issue by establishing basic standards of illumination. However, when applied too systematically, these measures fail to respond to the unique characteristics of a given site and the communities that inhabit it. This thesis project focuses on light as a design tool that we can use to improve our engagement with public space. It investigates how variations of scale, movement and accessibility are central components of a design strategy that seeks to address the complexity of public space and how it is encountered. The dynamic nature of these interactions is rooted in mobility and the shifting context that surrounds them. For instance, the common areas of public housing developments are largely transitional spaces between the city street and the private interior. Nevertheless, the variation of its programming - gardens, courts and communal spaces - constitute the front yards and backyards of entire neighborhoods. On the other hand, city parks are destination points shared by a range of communities. How we encounter, view and value these spaces can vary dramatically depending on our movement around and within them. Clearly, lighting has a tremendous role to play in supporting that experience. My research examines the ways in which institutional lighting strategies for the public space can inhibit pedestrian engagement and, in the worst cases, actively discourage it. These highly conditioned environments reinforce a perception that light is a static fixture of the surrounding infrastructure. In this way, light will continue to reflect the values of the 3

structure and institution rather than those of pedestrian. This is evident when a perceptual priority of security overrides one of comfort and invitation, thereby reducing active participation or other unintended consequences. For instance, one common misconception asserts that an increase in light will directly lead to an increase in safety. In practice, however, too much light can easily create disability glare and inhibit visibility1 or merely displace criminal activity into other areas. Time and again, we find that both safety and social capital grow stronger through community engagement.2 These outcomes can be fostered through a repositioning of light at the human scale where its adaptability, scalability and dynamism can better support the unique identity and values of a community. The methods used to explore this thesis are rooted in observation and participatory design. I have used various techniques to analyze photography and video taken from the pedestrian perspective in order to better understand how we “read” lighting across public spaces. Since this experience is in constant motion, it is important to examine how the overlapping flux of lighting scales influence our perception of space, access and program. Movement is used throughout my work as a key research component so I have engaged choreographers, directors and movement practitioners to explore empathetic and pedestrian-based design thinking. The design prototypes put forward in this thesis use light to instigate social gathering and facilitate conversations about other important aspects of public space. observation

action

reflexive praxis

evaluation

ideation

design process

IESNA G-1-03, 2003 Sander and Lowney, Social Capital Building Toolkit. 2006 4

1 2

In many cases, a common language with which residents and institutional organizations can use to communicate ideas about public space does not exist. Light, however, can act as a universal platform on which to build these conversations. The lighting designer, as a participant observer, is uniquely equipped to facilitate positive change in two ways: through a critical analysis and communication of current conditions and by establishing a practice of engagement with communities to help identify new solutions that respect local culture. Using accessible light as a communicative tool, the designer can create opportunities to interact in pedestrian conditions and learn about design implications from their perspective. This thesis demonstrates lightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique ability to provoke social engagement and focuses on the tactics we might use to strategically achieve this in practice. It proposes collaborative and participatory design tools to help develop a language of design that is aligned with the unique values and characteristics embedded in local knowledge. It frames aspirations for public space from the perspective of the pedestrian in motion and seeks to facilitate better communication with those for whom we design. True engagement between people and the public spaces they share will promote healthier, happier and stronger communities.

See Appendix A for the project Theory of Change

Temporary light tower managed by Mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office of Criminal Justice and the NYPD Ingersoll Development, NYCHA, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, January 2015

PREFACE A few months before embarking on this thesis, I walked by the Ingersoll housing development in Fort Greene, Brooklyn and noticed a portable lighting tower positioned at the site’s entrance from Myrtle Ave. On closer inspection, I realized that the entire development was inundated with these generator-powered lights typically found on highways and construction sites. I then learned that the lighting towers were installed by the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice as a temporary solution to address safety in the area while a more permanent solution could be implemented. I was shocked at the quality of lighting these residents were exposed to and wondered how such a thing could come to pass. Clearly, the shared spaces between these buildings were not under the control of the residents and, in many ways, were being used against them. These glaring, super bright light towers occupied central courtyards and walking path intersections. The wide throw, metal halide lamps obscure visual access and expose residents to a quality of light that can disrupt sleep cycles and impact psychological well being.3 With no particular focus, blinding light illuminated building facades, forcing people to close their window shades to keep it out of their apartments. In my observation, these towers discouraged nighttime use of the public spaces they inhabited and, as a result of the closed shades, prevented any casual observation from the surrounding apartment windows as well. These are circumstances that severely impact a community’s ability to self-police or maintain what Jane Jacobs describes as “eyes on the street.”4 For most NYC residents, access to public space is a necessary component of city living. In super-block housing developments, these spaces are the neighborhoods and the connective social tissue for the communities that reside there. Others rely on public parks and plazas to meet, play, organize or simply recede from the constructed city. By promoting engagement in these shared spaces, we can reinforce the social bonds and local identities that make cities feel like home. Radetsky and Figueiro. ‘IES Light and Health Seminar,’ 2011 Jacobs, Jane. The Death And Life Of Great American Cities, p 35. 7

3 4

METHODOLOGIES OF PRACTICE My design practice is rooted in the theatre, where tactility and connectedness emerge with the â&#x20AC;&#x153;real-timeâ&#x20AC;? quality of live performance. Live theatre demands an acute sense of awareness, reading the audience, and improvisation. Because of our investment in story telling and in grappling with the human condition, each project requires that we reinvestigate our world through the bodies of our characters. For me, design as social practice inhabits these same values and demands an empathetic focus on the people for whom we design. Light is one of the primary components of the public spaces we share with others so this thesis positions the design of lighting as a social practice. As we navigate through the city, the many characteristics of light determine much of our experience and interactions. Light, in this circumstance, performs many more roles than what might be customarily associated with visibility and orientation. Like light, the public domain is incredibly complex. In an attempt to identify and address this complexity, I have explored my project as both a transdisciplinary designer and a lighting designer and expand the research and development to domains traditionally outside of the lighting field. This includes collaborative work with other designers, movement practitioners, civic leaders and community members. My desire to seek the expertise of others results from a reluctance to make dangerous assumptions about such a potentially wicked problem space. I also hoped that a self-conscious, reflexive process would ensure a familiarity and relevance with the people and places involved in each project. Given the transient nature of public space, I framed my research from the pedestrianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s point of view. Placing the individual so centrally in my research has led to a series of inquiries about the body, its movements and the unique perspective of the city that is viewed from the street. After identifying three central tools from my own history of practice - movement, tactility and light - I sought to better understand how an individual might experience public space and the conditions that generate a deeper engagement. Engagement, in this case, is an 8

intangible quality of investment that can be likened to a desire to interact with other people and places. Because engagement is difficult to measure and quantify, I structured my analysis to pivot between observation and action where each intervention was uniquely informed and mediated by the present conditions. This was explored on several urban and social scales that are illustrated in detail by this project. Much of the transdisciplinarity of this thesis is rooted in a desire to design from the perspective of the pedestrian rather than the master planner. In my experience, lighting designs often begin with a known set of conditions such as the intended program, size and quality of the to-be-designed environment. Local codes and the IES handbook are then consulted to establish overall illumination guidelines. In my view, this strategy prescribes a set of outcomes that reflect the formulaic nature of a top-down design process. Alternatively, this project seeks to design a set of conditions from which the unexpected design can emerge, one whose characteristics can be further articulated by the direct users of each public space. In this way, I hope to remove designer bias from the process and enable various strategies to be quickly tested. My intent to continually prototype the design process provides a constant opportunity to evaluate and re-evaluate the public condition and the role light plays in that space. Public space is a resource that relies on larger institutions for support and facilitation. Therefore, design strategies in this domain often reveal this dependence through systematic and uniform lighting schemes that may broadcast intended use of a space while simultaneously masking its unique characteristics. This institutional coding can be read through light source patterns in the nightscape and can, at times, easily overwhelm subtle variations of publicly accessible space. By placing light closer to the users of public space and embedding it within the infrastructure, light can frame the experience on a human rather than institutional scale and further a sense of interaction and engagement.

INTERVENING THROUGH DESIGN: LIGHT AS A TOOL FOR ENGAGEMENT How can the discovery of tactile relationships with light generate the types of engagement that support identity, social exchange and new learning?

Light has become one of the central binding elements of our society. It enables us to extend our tasks and commerce indoors and after dark, it provides safe and reliable passage through the city, and it facilitates gathering and communion long into the night. Even as it has become ever-present, we continue to be drawn to its dynamic presence and elusive immateriality. It is no surprise, then, that light generates an almost instant engagement. From the fire to the light bulb, we have always been drawn to its various forms and the alternative worlds it reveals. It is for these reasons that my thesis positions light in ways that are tactile and interactive so that each project conducted under it might benefit from this natural attraction. Light is a trigger that commands attention, especially when it reveals itself in unexpected ways. It is also embedded in so much of our daily experience that it can provide a common point of entry into discussions about sustainability, sociability, infrastructure and art. Each discussion merely requires the appropriate lighting language to prompt it. The implications for design in this context extend well beyond lighting and can be found inhabiting a wide spectrum of social practices. From the choice of a light bulb purchase to the treatment of public space at night, most people will find they have a unique stake in conversations related to lighting. Design that can provoke these conversations and reveal true investment will begin to foster the kind of engagement that helps to make positive social change. For instance, we have to strengthen consumer knowledge to promote energy efficiency because there are no universal solutions. Our attempts to address awareness and fluency simply through the â&#x20AC;&#x153;nutrition labelsâ&#x20AC;? on product packaging disregard the lack of uniformity in either aesthetic or environmental dilemmas. Furthermore, these methods are not engaging 10

because they are unresponsive and further confound individual issues with those of the status quo. The same type of conundrum exists in public space where lighting is often assumed to be a fixed part of the infrastructure. Design considerations that prompt an engaging exchange about the individual impact of light on our environments can call into question the role of light in shared spaces and help to reposition it as a supportive feature in our communities. For those who do not directly practice with light, its mysterious properties are captivating but even its most basic characteristics are difficult to understand. It is challenging for the everyday consumer to consider variables like brightness, color temperature and power consumption, particularly when product choices are increasing so quickly. Given this fundamental impediment to fluency, consider how little agency one has over lighting in the public domain. We have such little authority over public lighting, yet it plays such an important role in determining our access and experience within these spaces. Light that is designed into social interventions can begin to reclaim this lost sense of agency by becoming a platform for conversation and growth. The instantly engaging properties of light can be used to gather communities, instigate play and facilitate the exploration of shared spaces. Such activities will reinforce community identity and further an expansive dialogue for positive change.

Light Cubes as a game of “memory,”No Barriers Project, Charlotte, NC photography: Aran Baker

DEFINING ENGAGEMENT First, I need to apply some meaning as to how I will define engagement throughout this thesis. In my experience with the performing arts, engagement is the voluntary act of participation that one commits to a shared experience. For a performer, engagement is the mental and physical embodiment of a character that is required to communicate their story. For theatrical designers, engagement is in a relentless search for recognizable or familiar aesthetic and environmental truths that will ensure the full experiential support of that story. For the audience, engagement requires investment in the story and enough suspension of disbelief to emotionally connect to the characters. In every instance, engagement means committing to the collective experience in order to benefit the collective good. Engagement in the social context of design demands more than a willingness to participate. Stakeholders, community members and co-designers are all part of an ensemble that must learn to perform together if any significant outcomes are to be made. Ezio Manzini describes this as an “enabling system” wherein “all people involved are, in different ways, agents of the solution.”5 Because each community is so completely unique, designers need their help to identify the common values and significant insights necessary to spur a design’s adoption. In 2010, the town of Ballymun, Ireland conducted major renovations to Poppintree Park in its town center. David Andrews, one of the lead architects for the project led a design + build workshop with the community that aimed to “reduce conflict and promote positive community interaction” (Andrews 2012). He asserts that “the redesign of the park is the culmination of an extensive public consultation process with local residents, resident associations, local forums, youth groups, sports clubs, and community groups” (Andrews 2012). In 2012, the project received a LAMA Award for Best Public Park as it clearly serves the interests of its community (Lamaawards.org 2015). Manzini, Ezio and Tassinari, Virginia, ‘Sustainable qualities: powerful drivers of social change,’ 2012: 6 13 5

Engagement with public space is no more complicated than the active use of it. However, one’s use of space in such a simplistic sense is not always positive so it is important for design to consider what type of engagement it wishes to promote. Ideally, activating positive engagement with community and space can be collectively explored and it is this combination that stands to generate the most social good. Union Square Park is an excellent example of a public space that serves the mixed needs of many different communities and organizations. Its amalgam of public spaces easily responds to changing needs and continues to encourage active use. Enter light. Most of our public space is outdoors and lighting is required to access and interact with it. Thus, it is intrinsic to every experience that signals the availability or enables the active use of space at night. This engagement includes gathering in a lighted plaza, walking along a lamppost-lined promenade, or playing basketball on an illuminated court. It is the only reason the aforementioned Union Square Park maintains such vibrant activity throughout the night; it’s common spaces are well lit by familiar, human-scaled fixtures whose forms reinforce their function. However, light can just as easily promote disengagement when experienced antagonistically. In areas of high crime, light may be used to overexpose vulnerable areas or as a tactic, even symbol, of observation and control. Such methods are currently in use by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and the NYPD and will be elaborated on more fully throughout this thesis. In these instances, light can communicate an impression of public space that is less conducive to gathering and can often degrade the potential value of these shared spaces. The task of measuring engagement can be as simple as a few lines of feedback on a form or the recorded interactions with a physical prototype. In each case, it is critical that iterations of the process are complemented by a structure that captures the participant’s insights and local knowledge. Documentation of engagement is one of the most sought after forms of evidence that signifies compelling user interaction. The simplest act of participation 14

Light Cubes as improvised urban architecture, No Barriers Project, Charlotte, NC

can be quickly recorded in photographs and video but this is merely anecdotal. Design frameworks that seek specific insights and that require thoughtful response from participants must be supported by a structure that can appropriately document their contributions. In this thesis, three scales of engagement will be evaluated as they relate to public lighting: passive, inhibitive and responsive. Passive lighting is minimal and it illuminates broad expanses of space without privileging types of use or modes of access. Many public parks and spaces operate in this state. Inhibitive lighting discourages use through its unpleasant atmosphere. This may result from too much light, too little light or a perceived poor quality of light. Examples of these areas may be found under intense security lighting or in dark alleyways. Finally, responsive lighting attempts to actively generate and support engagement either through responsiveness, adaptability or a clear hierarchy of intention. Increasingly, examples of this type of strategy are found in public spaces and can include sidewalk lighting that tracks pedestrians or short-term lighting conditions that support special events.

LIGHTING COMPONENTS OF PUBLIC SPACE The lighting of public space exists within a unique set of conditions. While parks and plazas serve the needs of multiple communities, these environments are generally maintained by a single entity and rendered under a single lighting scheme. Naturally, this passive lack of variation is the most obvious way to support the multitude of personalities that use the space and the mix of activities each may desire to do within it. In most cases, the fixtures are out of reach and simply turn on when the sun goes down. The inaccessible, unresponsive characteristics inherent in this quality of public lighting reinforce a perception that it is a fixed part of the infrastructure. For this reason, design tactics that involve dynamic lighting at an accessible scale provide great opportunities for intervention, but a thorough examination of the current conditions are necessary to conduct an effective exchange. I define dynamic lighting as that which is not static, constant, or otherwise fixed regardless of the changes in the local environment. These changes could be weather conditions, pedestrian use or noise levels. Accessibility is that which seems to be in reach - a source that one could conceivably touch from the ground. This proximal relationship allows for a level of interaction that is far less achievable with institutional fixtures installed high overhead. Lighting that is close to the ground can reveal silhouettes of people in motion and dramatic shifts of illumination relative to oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position around the source. More animated examples may modify the behavior of light sources through physical interaction. The concept of dynamic lighting is addressed in this thesis through various circumstances of physical engagement and interaction. In order to generate a context for engagement, I have defined several components of investigation, the first of which is scale. In the city, we must examine the various layers of lighting one may experience as they encounter public space. Car headlights, streetlights, storefronts, apartment windows, landscape and exterior lighting all contribute to the visual pedestrian nightscape. Each one of these will form its own patterning and we read these 17

Perceivable Variations of Scale in Public Lighting

city-wide

communal

individual 18

constantly shifting layers for information about our surroundings. We consciously and unconsciously operate across multiple scales of lighting and rely on their intersections and borders to navigate and inhabit the public domain. In this way, sense of place can be determined as one of intimacy under a single streetlamp, communally on a sidewalk with other pedestrians, or in speedy transition across the larger backdrop of the city. The second set of components in our reading of space is the light sources that are immediately visible against the darkness. We can largely rely on city codes to uniformly provide high intensity discharge lamps (quickly becoming LED retrofits) in all of their public spaces. Though their color could range from the cool of metal halides or LEDs to the more classic orange of high pressure sodium, we can be sure of a certain amount of consistency in their deployment. Source then becomes largely about language and orientation. From the pedestrianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perspective, the particular qualities of public lighting will initially be examined by their communicative clarity, not their technical, photometric properties. Furthermore, because source is experienced in motion, the characteristics of each lighting system become relative to their surrounding context; absorbed not individually but as a larger composition. Therefore, source must also be considered as one of many fluctuating elements in the urban dialogue that, through scale and pattern, indicates access, proximity and program. From this perspective, determinations of source call into question cultural values, personal preference and even oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own history within the city. Each of these associations with light will mean different things for different people. What we gain in visual clarity adds to the experiential narrative and further supports an identity of place. The luminaire is the third lighting component to consider as it literally binds the source to the site. Within its physical features are embedded the meaning and intention of the larger social and political dynamics at play. City streets and parks can be recognized as easily by their lighting fixtures as they can by signage. Lampposts become culturally recognizable icons that clearly demarcate accessible walking areas as independent from streets. In this way, fixture typologies reinforce both ownership through appearance and program through 19

Light Source Mapping

Prospect Park West, Brooklyn

Union Square Park, Manhattan

Ingersoll Housing, Brooklyn

performance. While this begins to speak to identity, considerations of scale will further enhance a sense of engagement because most public fixtures are intentionally inaccessible. Due to concerns regarding vertical illumination, efficient distribution and vandalism, almost every fixture that New York City specifies for public space mounts the light source at least 12â&#x20AC;&#x2122; from the ground with most street lights at 30â&#x20AC;&#x2122;. In some cases, institutional lighting that imposes itself upon public space as out of reach fixtures underlines a lack of agency for those who depend on it. Finally, we must examine the ways in which the control of a lighting environment can work in tandem with the other components as part of the experiential dialogue that occurs in public space. As one would imagine, typical control of public lighting is predominantly dictated by the time of day to easily provide access after dark. Control that responds to individual use is largely non-existent because these systems must support many individuals with unpredictable needs. Control, then, can be related to a sense of agency. A complete lack of control relieves users of unwieldy responsibility but prevents a certain investment in the way those spaces operate. The ability to manipulate oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s environment will clearly support a sense of ownership. More and more, technology is allowing us to build lighting systems that respond to use but the incorporation of these into public space requires a significant investment and is not universally justifiable. Control can also be given over to the user in a manner that allows them to alter the design through physical or digital means. Such variations of control generate engagement because they enable systems to be responsive. For that reason, I find this component to be an essential element of lighting design interventions in the public space.

PROJECT CONTEXT

This project addresses lighting design tactics for urban public spaces that will help to enrich community engagement and connection with these unique parts of the city. Public space in this context is a complicated realm. The distinction between public and private space is sometimes difficult to perceive and it is within these grey areas that the greatest opportunity for improvement may lie. One primary example of public space in the city is that of public housing. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is a private entity that houses over 400,000 NYC residents in 328 developments located throughout the five boroughs.6 Design managed by an institution of this size is predictably homogenous and impersonal. Though a vast majority of NYCHA’s property is un-built space,7 its access is often limited and not necessarily open to the public. Large fencing and “keep off the grass” signs signal that these areas are not intended to be physically experienced. In every case that I have studied, the pathways that traverse these areas are entirely illuminated by a single lighting strategy that is almost identical to the city streets surrounding it. This reinforces an impression that these semi-public spaces are designed to simply be traversed and not inhabited for any length of time. City parks suffer from a similar systemization and are often illuminated to the minimum requirements and privilege predetermined pathways. Though many parks are often graced with aesthetically appropriate lighting fixtures, such universal illumination standards leave little room to recognize the individuality of these sites and the variety of programming they offer. The ability to recognize these attributes at night helps maintain the variety of uses and types of engagement offered. Public spaces that entice and communicate active use can reinforce a neighborhood’s positive image and add value to its community. Nighttime spaces that obscure use and in http://www1.nyc.gov/site/nycha/about/about-nycha.page Bernheimer et al. Nychapedia, 2014. 22

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JFK Boulevard (left) and the adjacent NYCHA Jacob Riis housing (right)

AGi32 rendering of Washington Square Park at night

teraction may unintentionally communicate neglect and appear uninteresting, unavailable or unsafe. When these negative connotations are shared, it can create a psychological barrier, sometimes separating communities that are literally adjacent to each other. As I will address in more detail later, this is the case for Anita Stroud Park in the Genesis Park neighborhood of Charlotte, NC. Three neighborhoods surround this park but no informal arrangements of shared use have been established so the park is left neglected and mostly vacant. This specific area was identified by the City of Charlotte as one that demonstrates that, through a lack of engagement, a shared public space can actually divide a community.

PRECEDENTS AND LESSONS

The effects of community disengagement from public space can be seen across many urban situations. In the case of public housing, residents have little choice regarding their public nighttime experience and a lack of agency in these circumstances may easily manifest into a lack of pride and sense of ownership; themes that are repeatedly linked to the degradation of the public good (Jacobs 1993, Sander 2006, Thackara 2005). Similarly, public spaces that do not facilitate community engagement may instead be perceived as barriers between neighborhoods and places of questionable safety. A design process that is participatory and observant can engage design in the interstitial spaces between the city street and the private household, or the contested and otherwise unclaimed areas that appear to separate communities, all as part of an active, communal neighborhood. A re-examination of public space through the perspective of the pedestrian rather than the institution will improve both the individual and communal experience.

PRECEDENT - NYC MAYOR’S OFFICE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) properties are not well known for their design thinking. This massive organization seeks efficiency and cost effectiveness and may feel that a more intentional design strategy that specifies particular lighting fixtures will be too expensive8. As central design drivers, these institutional environments provide light at the minimum requirement, often employing a street light typology for its public walkways. This kind of visual language reduces the significance of public space to an ordinary streetway that cars would otherwise occupy. When complemented by head-high fencing, the perceived value for human habitation diminishes to a frightening scale. This complete lack of an engaged, user-centered thinking sets the stage for reactionary strategies that exacerbate disconnections and turn the privilege of light into a form of punishment. The NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice infrastructure improvement plan operates with a knee-jerk, out of date thinking that more light equals more safety and security. However, any decrease in social engagement hampers the neighborhood’s ability to self-police. Furthermore, these lighting conditions can actually decrease safety by creating high amounts of glare and contrast that inhibit clear observation of the area and, as criminal patterns demonstrate, these methods may simply displace criminal activity into other surrounding areas. Such aggressive lighting conditions at night are biologically harmful to the health of the very residents they aim to protect. These broad policy tactics that position tactical control over neighborhood identity threaten to disengage residents and add to the psychological deterioration of a community. Since NYCHA is responsible for so many housing developments (approximately 178,000 apartments) their regulations dictate the environmental conditions for hundreds of thousands of people. The development of strategic design tactics that Though not part of the current research, potential next steps could identify some of these long terms costs as they relate to the active use of space and the social capital gained through neighborhood interaction and community-wide investment. 26 8

BQE

Flat h Av bus e

Myrtle Ave light tower & 1 acre coverage

walking paths

Distribution of light towers managed and operated by NYPD, Ingersoll Housing, Brooklyn

January 2014 - before installation of light towers

January 2015 - after installation of light towers

NYC Crime Map - Ingersoll Housing - http://maps.nyc.gov/crime/

Neighborhood access path, Ingersoll Housing

could be eventually incorporated into the planning of such a large organization could make a tremendous impact on the city. Design tactics that attempt to support a neighborhood rather than control it are more likely to address long-term goals of community engagement and the building of social capital. Central to the success of public housing and community development is the experiential quality of their public spaces. As this thesis demonstrates, lighting defines much of this experience and should be considered from the perspective of those who use it. In this way, interacting and living within the design will help promote more healthy, engaged and invested communities.9

â&#x20AC;&#x2030; Campbell and Wiesen. Restorative Commons. 2009. P 83. 29

PRECEDENT - THE SOCIAL LIGHT MOVEMENT The Social Light Movement, founded in 2010, is a philanthropic movement formed to create a network for lighting designers and other interested parties to collaborate on the issue of improving lighting for people: particularly those who are unlikely to have access to good quality illumination within their environment.10

The Social Light Movement11 puts light into the hands of citizens. This tactile exchange develops a fluency with which to discuss otherwise unapproachable lighting conditions in the public domain. A focus for the organizations is public housing where a lack of citizen agency typically results from institutional disengagement. Ultimately, they seek to address preconceptions about the role of light in public spaces and advocate for communities and residents. A recent large-scale project entitled Urban Lightscapes / Social Nightscapes that investigated the impact of participatory design activities within a public housing community is of particular interest to my research. The project was conducted in cooperation with the London School of Economics and addressed the Whitecross Estate housing in London (Socialnightscapes.org 2015). Here, the SLM worked with residents and local community members to experiment with alternative lighting schemes on the property and against the buildings of the housing complex. More resonant to my project is their handbook for social design research that was administered to the project leaders.12 This framework assisted their interactions with residents by helping educate participants about local values and by preventing design bias from the guest practitioners. I found the outcomes of this project to be largely successful but it is the participatory methodologies they initiated that may have the most impact on the social viability of future http://www2.luciassociation.org/cum-liege-programme-details-page-7.html The Social Light Movement was founded in 2010 by Eric Olsson, Isabelle Corten, Martin Lupton, Joran Linder, Sharon Stammers and Elettra Bordonaro 12 http://socialnightscapes.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/SRD-Handbook.pdf 30 10 11

design work. I think this aspect most successfully communicates the tremendous impact of thoughtful neighborhood lighting to actual residents. In my view, the projects SLM has undertaken demonstrate that a considered design approach directly informed by the community enables light to effectively support public spaces.

ACTION RESEARCH MOVING TO DESIGN - MOVEMENT WORKSHOP SERIES The inclusion of movement and movement research is a critical component for this thesis. To design at the scale of the pedestrian requires an empathetic approach to the body and it’s transitory experience through the city. A specific focus on movement will inform this process with a choreographic structure and help refine the design language by relating it back to the body. Not only will this provide a structure from which to organize public spaces of interaction, but it will help assess the current conditions that inform the deployment of design as a spatial and experiential intervention. In order to test these theories, I organized three workshops with three movement professionals and invited graduate students from several design programs13 to attend. In the first workshop, Reggie Wilson (choreographer, Fist and Heel Performance Group) translated the organization of movement to a language that could articulate a design practice. The principle qualities of his work – time / space / movement - can easily be translated to a spatial or systems design thinking. In the second workshop, John Jasperse (choreographer, John Jasperse Projects) investigated the body through skin, muscle and bone and I have subsequently translated this organization to a site’s threshold, path and structure, respectively. This alignment has helped me consider space at a more familiar scale and situate my interventions in a manner that supports the pedestrian. In the third workshop, Dan Rothenberg (director, Pig Iron Theatre Company) led exercises that asked participants to explore the roles of gaze, mannerism and body awareness and how these actions communicate spatial qualities to others. Through these workshops, we quickly realized how our experience of space is intricately connected to the body in motion. For a detailed breakdown of the workshop, see Appendix C Attendees included MFA students from Parsons AMT, SDS and SCE 32

Workshop #1 with Reggie Wilson

Workshop #2 with Dan Rothenberg

Workshop #3 with John Jasperse

ACTION RESEARCH CONVERSATIONAL INTERVENTION - CHAIR EXPERIMENT

In order to address my own bias about public lighting, I set up an experiment in a

public space to provoke conversation about light with people who are not lighting designers. I affixed LED ribbon to two identical chairs that were positioned across from each other. The quality of light was different on each chair, one directly illuminated the opposite person and the other was focused to the ground where the source was not visible. Passersby were invited to sit and discuss their experience in each chair with different combinations of chair lights on.

The conversations revealed various reactions to each lighting condition through a

language that was highly qualitative and quite interesting to decode. Words like “interrogation” or “creepy” spoke to an uncomfortable sense of vulnerability and exposure when facing direct light and a figure in silhouette. Conversely, words like “comforting” and “grounded” were used to describe the other chair’s soft, indirect light because it seemed to connect the person and chair to the sidewalk and the immediate, surrounding space. A positive response was consistently associated with the indirect light from underneath the chair whereas the person facing direct light always perceived it negatively. These results support wider findings that demonstrate a preference for the general illumination of proximal spaces over the wider landscape14 and reaffirms that glare continues to be an issue of discomfort and distrust. Chair #1: This chair emits light from under the seat, brightly illuminating the asphalt directly underneath it. This effect clearly connects the chair to the ground and lightly silhouettes the seated person. Reflected light from the ground may slightly illuminate the face of the person in Chair #2. Chair #2: This chair has LED ribbon attached to the front armature that clearly defines it’s structure and form. The unobstructed LED chips directly illuminate the person seated in Chair #1 but, because of the direct glare, significantly reduce the visibility of the person seated in Chair #2. Antal Haans, & Yvonne A. W. de Kort, Light distribution in dynamic street lighting. (Eindhoven University of Technology, 2012):12 34 14

A “light chair” experiment in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY

Two pairs of participants were asked to comment on 4 stages of illumination: (1) chairs #1 and #2 ON; (2) chair #1 ON & chair #2 OFF; (3) chair #1 OFF & chair #2 ON; (4) chairs #1 and #2 OFF. I compiled the exchange of comments (from video recording or via follow-up email, as unavailable) in the chart below. The experiment was conducted along the entrance to Prospect Park from 15th Street and Prospect Park West at approximately 7:30pm on March 8, 2015. The participants included three passersby and 3 students from Parsons Design & Urban Ecologies MS program. The feedback from two conversations was recorded. Admittedly, this experiment cries out for further testing and analysis. The research base is far too limited to extract any resounding insights but the framework itself tests positive in its ability to generate feedback and initiate conversation, as was the primary intent.

CRITERIA FOR INTERVENTION

Throughout my examination of various public spaces, I proposed categorizations for spatial typologies as a means to clarify my critique and strategically offer new value through design. Our ability to recognize infrastructural organization informs us about accessibility and effectively communicates divisions of public and private space. I have generated three layers of observational organization that address the pedestrian’s sense of engagement in and to public space. This taxonomy provides a framework for this thesis project and is as follows:

spatial conditions: neutral, curated, contested, isolated

internal anatomy15: threshold, path, structure experience: passive, inhibitive, responsive Essentially a methodology for design research and practice, I became interested in how a change in experience or perception might be manifested architecturally, in context. My research and experimentation demonstrated recognizable value in lighting proposals that clearly defined a unique sense of volumetric space within the larger landscape. I believe it is this principle of spatial identity that lends itself most effectively to an experience of engagement. As an intervention, this could become a form of intimacy offered under the cover of night, when articulated lighting creates an isolated atmosphere. Bille and Sorenson describe these environments as “confined spaces within a larger room. These spaces are considered intimate, private and exclusive to the individuals participating in the social gathering.”16 The relationship of these intimate spaces to the greater public realm was central to Aldo Van Eyck’s development of a “configurative design” that sought to “create meaningful environments with which users could identify.”17 In doing so, he intertwined the experience see Appendix B Bille and Sorensen. 'An Anthropology Of Luminosity: The Agency Of Light'. Journal Of Material Culture 12 (3): 276 17 Jaschke, Karin. “City ls House and House ls City.” In Intimate Metropolis. 2009: 181 37 15 16

of the public city with the domestic privacy of the home in an effort to pursue a responsive structural form that would “encourage encounter and communication.”18 “...instead of using iconography or typology to generate meaning, the constitutive motifs in schemes by Blom, van Eyck, Hertzberger and others consisted in what they described as ‘archetypes’: spatial elements and situations that they understood as elementary units of physical and sociopsychic inhabitation. These included, for instance, outlooks, such as podiums, terraces and balconies; connections, such as steps and staircases, passages and paths; shelters, including roofs, niches and corners; barriers; and spaces intended to organize of themselves social relations.”19

By drawing out an archetypal structure for public light, I intend to generate a reflexive design language that provokes and supports social engagement in unique urban conditions. The prototypes conducted in this research demonstrate several ways that light can successfully create distinct spatial conditions and reinforce the active use and character of a particular public space at night. Interestingly, they also reveal that a fixture’s form and mounting condition communicate as much about the overall intention (via design or institution) as the color, brightness and distribution of its source. Such typologies of fixture add to the impression of a site and help indicate a form of design that might be taken in response. From the vantage point of the pedestrian, overhead traffic lights and lampposts generate points of brightness and glare without communicating the volumetric detail or progression of individual spaces. Building and landscape lighting can create more definition by silhouetting figures and scenery that may otherwise be obscured from view. By defining the edges of a given space, this language can be incorporated at smaller scales within landscapes to suggest internal relationships or volumetric identity. For instance, the familiar and intimate spaces elucidated by an uneven flicker of candlelight are defined less by what one sees and more by what is left in darkness.20 The evocative nature of this lighting effect escalates with our curiosity as we are given permission to explore spatial details with our imagination. Very ibid. p181 ibid. p190 20 Bille and Sorensen, 'An Anthropology Of Luminosity: The Agency Of Light,' 275 38 18 19

rarely do we have an opportunity to do this is in the city but when deemed safe, such moments can significantly increase our engagement. The visual extents defined by a light source so close at hand begin to suggest a volumetric mass at the scale of the individuals who encounter it. It is, as Naoto Fukasawa describes, ‘close to the body,’ and therefore “part of the human experience.”21 This provides a sense familiarity from which individual interaction and engagement can emerge. Translated to public space, the luminous quality of a designed intervention must define a volumetric massing of constrained proportions at a human scale in dialogue with its surroundings.

120º

10’ 5’

AGi32 illuminance studies used to verify the performance of a light object - see Community Intervention

Ashcraft, 'Without Thought,' 2007 39

CASE STUDY - TRANSITORY INTERVENTION WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK

Washington Square Park is predominantly lit by lampposts (if one were to disregard the newly and, in my opinion, overly-lit Washington Arch) that contribute roughly 1 footcandle of illumination upon the ground surface within a 10â&#x20AC;&#x2122; radius of their base. When we examine such a minimal contribution of light as an entire system, there is little to indicate the different modes one may inhabit while occupying the park, particularly when approaching it from afar. The mass and material properties of structure, furniture and ground cover are the clearest signals of communication regarding program and access but such minimal lighting obscures this information. I categorize this park as a neutral condition with a borderline passive/inhibitive lighting strategy. It is neutral because access and occupancy are neither specifically promoted nor discouraged. The parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perimeter is porous and it is easily entered as a destination or thoroughfare, yet it maintains a constant state of illuminated equilibrium in its public areas, regardless of program. The pathways, playground, dog park areas and even the central fountain are not easily identifiable from a distance. Visual prominence is reserved for the arch it dominates the view. The general lighting is unassertive but the uniformity of low-level illumination seems to inhibit its full use. Such a condition is ripe for a subtle intervention. In the NE quadrant of the park there is a small stage whose single, non-working lamppost has rendered it nearly invisible at night. There are benches along the dimly lit pathways but their availability is unknown until one is practically upon them. If light occupied these forms in a way that contributed to their volumetric mass, their presence could be read at a distance and their relationship to the larger park could be better understood. Such an awareness of the unique character(s) of space helps contribute to its overall narrative and, consequently, oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s investment in that space. My thesis research responds to these observations as it searches for ways to provoke 40

engagement. In doing so, it attempts to use varying qualities of light to activate the essence of individual environments and the anatomical characteristics within. For example, the benches mentioned above are located along paths and must be considered as part of a transient connectivity within the park. Effective lighting along these pedestrian networks will heighten awareness and may encourage social connectivity with others. Highlighting a bench or seating gives prominence to this social form and reinforces its purpose. A volume of light that occupies the stage area might help define its parameters and elevate it above the surrounding park tissue. Each of these moves will help reveal opportunities for interaction. Whether it be a simple shift of color or a highlighted change in elevation, the visual communication of a structure and spatial organization will help reveal a placeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s character and energize a sense of engagement.

Bench chair prototype and accompanying AGi32 luminance study for Washington Square Park

CASE STUDY - COMMUNITY INTERVENTION NO BARRIERS PROJECT, CHARLOTTE, NC In the Winter and Spring of 2015, I was engaged as a Civic Design Fellow with IDEO and the Knight Foundation with a team of designers from Transdisciplinary Design and Urban Ecologies at Parsons. We worked in collaboration with civic leaders from the City of Charlotte, North Carolina on a design prototype that would bring communities together across physical and psychological barriers. Titled the No Barriers Project, it typifies a project conducted under the principles of this thesis by focusing on light as a tool to build engagement in public space. The [No Barriers] project identifies physical barriers between diverse communities that may act as real and symbolic divides, and encourages communities to work together to connect, create and celebrate within that space. (Chisun 2015)

Barriers exist in a multitude of forms across every city in the world. The perception of each varies drastically in the communities and neighborhoods that surround it. The team from the City of Charlotte identified three sites and conditions in their city where they felt that a barrier was not only separating communities, but was also regarded as an underused, disengaged space. One of these sites, Anita Stroud Park, lay directly between an old community and a new development. The conditions there were very similar to those we experience in the density of NYC where ownership or access to small public space can be unclear, particularly when there are no active systems in place that support collective gathering. We all agreed that this park would provide the best environment for a community-engaged intervention. At six acres, the park itself is relatively small but its elongated shape imposes a clear division between the adjacent communities. Along the South end where the older neighborhood is located, there are two central access points. The first is down a long set of stairs that adjoin a neighborhood street and the second gradually opens into the park from the grounds 42

Knight Foundation Civic Design Fellowship - Bootcamp, Parsons, NYC, January 2015 photography: Dongin Shin

of a local elementary school. At the North end and along the new development line access to the park is seamless, separated only by a slight hill. Neighbors from both sides have expressed interest in sharing the park and connecting as communities, but they lack the tools to engage. Interviews with residents revealed a lack of common understanding and perceived conflicts of use. On the other hand, there were numerous concerns and desires for the park that were shared by both sides. Everyone wanted a clean, safe park that could support the residents and families in the community. On-site observations and personal interviews revealed that daytime use of the park was relatively low and that nighttime use was practically non-existent. Lighting in the park was minimal and only located along the central pathway. Of the various structures within it (basketball court, bridges, picnic shelter) none benefited from any lighting that would facilitate their use at night. The long stairs at the South end were dark and the shelter only collected incidental light from lampposts along the nearby pathway. This was an image of the park we felt needed to be addressed in order to challenge current perceptions and foster new connections. We elected to use light and play as communication tools that residents could use to forge new pathways and uses for the park. We evaluated the experiential character of Anita Stroud Park and saw it as a contested space with inhibitive lighting. This combination is challenging to overcome but it also offers a great deal of opportunity for intervention. The contested nature of this park is one that every stakeholder has an interest in resolving. Its location between old and new neighbors as well as old and emerging economies is one that reflects the social tensions common to diverse urban communities. Our intention was to introduce the park as a curated space and ameliorate any suspicion over its neutrality. This type of intervention is certainly the most demanding and requires a great many resources from those involved. In our research, the inhibitive qualities of the parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lighting immediately revealed themselves. The streets and properties that surround Anita Stroud Park are subtly lit and 44

NEW DEVELOPMENT

EXISTING NEIGHBORHOOD

Anita Stroud Park, Charlotte, NC

Anita Stroud Park - proposed areas of intervention

Anita Stroud Park - current lighting conditions at night

much of the neighborhood is steeped in shadow. This overall nighttime atmosphere is quite pleasant but it lacks visual detail and may generate an unsafe impression. Beyond the familiar streets and landmarks that define the perimeter, much of the park’s large areas, structures and pathways are completely dark. This combination of environmental factors has resulted in a complete lack of engagement with the park after dark. Exacerbating an already unpleasant image, visibility in the park is further limited by overgrown ivy and a hilly topography. In response to these conditions, we focused our intervention on the entrances of the park and the areas off the path that were not supported by the current lighting scheme. We used these visual invitations to promote access to the park and increase neighborhood awareness about its offerings. A primary driver for our intervention was the act of co-creation – we were determined to work alongside residents and give them the tools to discover insights for themselves. This participatory model of design demanded that our intervention be accessible and tactile. We believed that the fundamental act of cooperation would reveal the various identities of the collective community and the ways they wished to interact with the park. We wanted to find out where they would naturally gather, what structures they felt were missing, and how they might redefine the park layout and the pathways that cut across it. We felt that the best platform to achieve this was through a community wide event held in the park, hosted by the city and facilitated by our design team. It was advertised by the city as Friday Night Lights and all of the surrounding neighborhoods were invited to participate and “co-create.” We became interested in physical building blocks because they represented a familiar language for play and ideation. After testing several iterations, a set of white modular blocks became the tabula rasa for the event. They were lightweight and easy to manipulate, stack or move around the park. We invited participants to build with them, use them for games or simply sit on them. We also encouraged people to visually map, draw and write directly on the blocks. Over the course of the event, these activities facilitated some of our strongest insights 46

interacting with light blocks, Friday Night Lights

co-building with light blocks, Friday Night Lights

about local interests, concerns and aspirations. As night fell, the blocks morphed into luminous, volumetric, massings that literally cast the park under a new light. These forms, that are so critical to the development of this thesis, uniquely represented their accumulation and use. The landscape of the park visually represented the curiosity and cooperation of the neighborhood. Mechanically, each block variation was consistent in its color and quality though the brightness and distribution increased with each larger size22. The LED source color (impossible to state with any certainty) was very cool with a tinge of lavender; very different from the orange/yellow color emitted by the high-pressure sodium lights - the only other light sources in the park. The distribution of light, filtered through a sheet of translucent acrylic, spread the light almost 180 degrees. This allowed each box to illuminate a wide area but only in close proximity. Finally, because these blocks were lightweight and easy to move, they shifted and re-located often. Together, these characteristics clearly identified the blocks as unique to the event and contributed to a framework that structured and recorded the community’s participation. The color, shape and luminosity of the light blocks contributed to a volumetric presence that was accessible and clearly independent of the park’s generic infrastructure. The blocks and their associated activities were deployed as an engaging, interactive design language that would facilitate creative place-making and provide the visual communication through which that experience could be shared. The white, geometric forms were distinct against the park’s natural landscape but the scale of the design was aligned to the body, effectively reinforcing a dialogue between pedestrian and place. This intervention addressed the inhibitive nature of the park by providing a visual invitation that generated a sense of agency through interaction. Through the use of accessible objects, this participatory event reduced the division between the designer and the user, improved a community’s fluency about light and shared Modular blocks in Charlotte included: (12) 1’x1’x1’, (8) 1’x1’x2’, (5) 1’x1’x4’, (6) 1’x2’x2’, & (5) 1’x2’x4’ 48 22

space, and facilitated an awareness of a valuable, public resource. The open, inclusive format of the event suspended many of the barriers that had previously separated the adjacent neighborhoods and provided a positive framework for interaction, understanding and growth.

Friday Night Lights, South entrance

CRITIQUE AND CONCLUSION I was able to present my thesis on two different occasions. Once with the Transdisciplinary Design candidates in the School of Design Strategies, and once with the Double Major and Dual Degree candidates in the School of Constructed Environments. The feedback from the two programs often overlapped but the biggest shared desire was a clearer portrayal of how the other program impacted the project and my design practice. The ping pong of alternating feedback was expected but nevertheless difficult to negotiate in my varied attempts to adapt and re-adapt one central presentation. Throughout my critical feedback, issues that were touched on the most related to the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scalability, implications of policy, and formulas or methods of transferability that could be extracted from my research.

Overall, it was clear that my presentation would have benefitted from a clearer com-

munication of the transdisciplinary components that make it unique. Because such a practice is exploratory and in many ways self-defining, there is a general interest from all parties as to how I have enacted it. My investigation into the body and movement is a core principle of the research but the thesis would be strengthened by a clear portrayal of how these inquiries evolved throughout the process. The idea of reading light certainly grew from this perspective but the spatial organization of the body [skin, muscle, bone] as it relates to site [threshold, path, structure] needs more clarification and testing. Nevertheless, the workshops with movement practitioners and designers from other domains that were conducted throughout the year speak to a need to open up the process of design for public space. The transdisciplinary ethos resides in this inclusion and I feel it has served my project well.

Policy became an unavoidable topic of criticism and conversation following each

presentation. Throughout this process, I have wrestled with how the NYCHA lighting towers (the initial impetus for the project) should be positioned in my argument about engagement in public space. The highly politicized landscape of public housing is a flashpoint for debate, particularly when the methods of intervention are untested and generally unclear. As a 51

launching point, this obviously harmful lighting situation clearly demonstrates how lighting performs roles far beyond simple illumination and helps support a design-driven methodology that would orient the process of lighting design with those who directly encounter it. At the conclusion of each of my presentations, I was able to slightly reposition my argument about engagement in reference to the complex, sociopolitical system from which the lighting towers emerged. With each iteration, I found the differences in reaction and feedback extremely fascinating but I continued to be confronted with similar questions of scale and transferability. In my final presentation, I proposed that source and fixture may not be the solution, but a shift in program might provide an opportunity for the community to feel supported by the larger institutions. This project does not intend to replace lighting towers with paper lanterns. Instead, it attempts to reposition the process of design in a way that can challenge the value of institutional tactics and examine ways that familiarity and human-scaled tactility can achieve institutional goals. It may be a slight disservice to the project to conclude with a situation I have not specifically addressed but to not re-address it always seemed like a disservice to the communities who are affected by this egregious condition. We seldom discuss the lighting designer as activist but who better to respond to and address these conditions? This continues my assertion that the lighting designer must work outside of lighting in order to bring effective, socially responsive strategies to their work. These complicated gaps in the project may have been ameliorated by a design sequence that could be applied to a varied set of public conditions and by communicating the â&#x20AC;&#x153;designâ&#x20AC;? in a recognizable frame of practice. However, it was always my intention to design toward a set of conditions rather than particular outcomes. Given the wide net cast by my research, I responded with many different tests, prototypes and methods of organization. Overall, this may have prevented me from drilling down with specificity but it nurtured a varied landscape from which to act. My research has shown that the social quality of shared urban spaces has an enor52

mous impact on the health of our communities. In this context, design benefits from an empathetic consideration of the individual experience that also honors local and cultural identity. Under these principles, I designed my thesis project to provoke engagement through light, play and the body in motion. This interactive, collaborative research offered insight to all participants - community members and designers alike. Many critics seemed to be seeking a more formulaic organization in my approach but, since formulas suggest outcomes, I chose to focus on a design strategy that was adaptive and far more conversational in its approach to public space.

REFERENCES

Andrews, David. ‘Poppintree Park Wins 2012 Lama Award For Best Public Park!’. Blog. Common Designs, 2012. https://commondesigns.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/poppintreepark-wins-2012-lama-award-for-best-public-park/. Andrews, David. ‘Poppintree Youth Project – Participatory Design’. Blog. Common Designs, 2012. https://commondesigns.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/community-design-ofwelcome-sign-to-ballymun/. Ashcraft, Brian. ‘Without Thought’. Blog. Metropolis, 2007. http://www.metropolismag. com/May-2007/Without-Thought/. Berger, John. Ways Of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting Corp., 1973. Bernheimer, Andrew, David Leven, Yuliya Savelyeva, and Samuel Weston. Nychapedia. [New York, N.Y.]: Parsons the New School for Design, School of Constructed Environments. 2014. Bille, M., and T. F. Sorensen. ‘An Anthropology Of Luminosity: The Agency Of Light’. Journal Of Material Culture 12 (3): 263-284. 2007. doi:10.1177/1359183507081894. Campbell, Lindsay K, and Anne Wiesen. Restorative Commons. Newtown Square, PA: USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, 2009. Certeau, Michel de, and Steven Rendall. The Practice Of Everyday Life. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Chisun, Rees. ‘Friday Night Lights Yields Lessons In Building Community In Charlotte, N.C.’. Blog. Knight Blog. 2015. http://www.knightfoundation.org/blogs/ knightblog/2015/4/2/friday-night-lights-yields-lessons-building-community-charlottenc/. ‘Designing Nocturnal Cities: Illuminating The Social Role Light Plays In Urban Life.’ Blog. The London School Of Economics And Political Science. 2015. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/ impactofsocialsciences/2015/02/10/social-role-of-light-urban-design/. Duston, Claudia, Jeremy Myerson, and Rama Gheerawo. Light Volumes, Dark Matters. 55

London: Helen Hamlyn Centre, 2010. Ebbensgaard, C. L. ‘Illuminights: A Sensory Study Of Illuminated Urban Environments In Copenhagen’. Space And Culture 18 (2): 112-131. 2014. doi:10.1177/1206331213516910. Haans, Antal, and Yvonne A.W. de Kort. ‘Light Distribution In Dynamic Street Lighting: Two Experimental Studies On Its Effects On Perceived Safety, Prospect, Concealment, And Escape’. Journal Of Environmental Psychology 32 (4): 342-352, 2012. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2012.05.006. Halprin, Lawrence, The RSVP Cycles. New York: G. Braziller, 1970.

Handbook For The Urban Lightscapes / Social Nightscapes Workshop. pdf. 1st ed. Accessed February 17, 2015. http://socialnightscapes.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ SRD-Handbook.pdf. Jacobs, Jane, The Death And Life Of Great American Cities. New York: Modern Library, 1993. Jakle, John A. City Lights. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. Jaschke, Karin. “City ls House and House ls City, Aldo van Eyck, Piet Blom and the Architecture of Homecoming.” In Intimate Metropolis, edited by Vittoria Di Palma, Diana Periton, and Marina Lathouri. London: Routledge, 2009 Lamaawards.org, ‘2012 Winners | LAMA Awards’. 2015. http://www.lamaawards.org/ winners/2012-2. ‘Lawrence Halprin’S Motations & Ecoscores’. Blog. Dataisnature. 2012. http://www. dataisnature.com/?p=1583. Lefebvre, Henri. The Production Of Space. Oxford, OX, UK: Blackwell, 1991. Lynch, Kevin. The Image Of The City. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1960. Manzini, Ezio and Tassinari, Virginia, “Sustainable qualities: powerful drivers of social change,” 2012: 1-11. http://designpracticesandparadigms.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/ manzini_-emerging_qualites.pdf Nessen, Stephen. ‘For Grown-Ups, The Field Of Dreams Is One With Lighting’. Blog. 56

WNYC News, 2012. http://www.wnyc.org/story/225657-new-york-grownups-fielddreams-one-lighting/. NYC.gov. ‘NYCHA - About’. Accessed February 13, 2015. http://www1.nyc.gov/site/nycha/ about/about-nycha.page. Radetsky, Leora, and Mariana G. Figueiro. ‘IES Light And Health Seminar’. Presentation, Lighting Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2011. Sander, Thomas, and Kathleen Lowney. ‘Social Capital Building Toolkit’. Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement In America, John F. Kennedy School Of Government, 2006: Version 1.2. Socialnightscapes.org, ‘Urban Lightscapes / Social Nightscapes’. http://socialnightscapes. org. 2015. Strauven, Francis. ‘Aldo Van Eyck – Shaping The New Reality From The In-Between To The Aesthetics Of Number’. CCA Mellon Lectures 12: 1-20. 2007. Street Design Manual. New York City Department of Transportation, 2nd ed. New York City, 2013. Thackara, John. In The Bubble. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2005. Turchi, Peter. Maps Of The Imagination. San Antonio, Tex.: Trinity University Press, 2004.

All photography and graphic images by the author unless otherwise noted.

APPENDIX A

ORGANIZATIONAL TYPOLOGIES Structure Within each site are permanent fixtures, such as buildings, basketball courts, trees, and monuments. These elements make up the bones of a site, reflecting its structural character and providing a physical network around which the site must organize. Most often, these elements communicate the identify of a place more so than paths and certainly more than thresholds. Given the scale of these elements, it is understandable, however, that their impact can be easily taken for granted. Either due to their proximity to larger structures or simply neglect, nighttime illumination of small structures is seldom given any special treatment whatsoever. Take, for example, the bridge over Navy Street that connects the two sections of Ingersoll housing. As one of the only pedestrian bridges in Fort Greene, it is a structural element unique to this neighborhood. However, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lighting treatment is no different from the surrounding street and pathway system, depriving it of any distinct character. Large buildings constitute many of the typical structures in public places. Therefore, an impression of defining character will require significantly more consideration than the standard application of generic lighting protocol. The opacity of many of these structures to the transitioning pedestrian further diminishes their narrative value as potential elements of engagement. How, then, might the character of structure shift in perspective? Perhaps the base of the building could be lit in a way that silhouettes the surrounding foliage. This would create a visual animation that responds to pedestrian movement throughout the site.

examples: building, bridge, basketball court

Threshold The initial threshold begins at the periphery of the site yet may be several layers deep. It is porous, though, and the degree to which it allows passage is indicative of larger, institutional goals that may be in place. As the pedestrianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first point of contact when entering a 60

site from the city, this transitory membrane demands unique consideration because it will be evaluated and signified based on the particularities of the exterior context. Often, what is stated in the positioning and demeanor of built objects is not similarly echoed in light and fixture design. For instance, property associated with the city and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s various institutions may not immediately differentiate itself from the surrounding city street because the lighting fixture typology remains the same in both the exterior and interior spaces. This particular circumstance reduces the impression of transition because the lighting does not support the narrative implicit in the structure. On the other hand, city spaces with consistent typologies, and particularly private spaces with street access, illustrate a threshold that can be clearly read from a distance. In this manner, the pedestrian accumulates information about the environment as they travel and are able to construct their own narrative of engagement. Thresholds may exist at several intervals within a site and each incident represents a transition from one mode of pedestrian engagement to another. These transitional points that embody changes in program or orientation are personalities of a site that can be reinforced through design. Internal thresholds may be present between larger programmatic shifts like that from a section of housing to a community center or basketball court. In each instance, each skin contains a smaller ecosystem of muscle and bone that, together, construct a unique narrative for that particular area. It is the sequential navigation of these transitional ecosystems that can either enhance the siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s character or deprive the pedestrian of any sense of connection with it.

examples: street to site, inner neighborhood to private housing, communal area to major site path Path Paths are used to navigate the site and its transitional ecosystems and their use constitutes the strength of the entire system. These routes, whether familiar or not, keep a site in active motion. Whether used absentmindedly as direct transitions or deliberately as explor61

atory meanders, they almost always provide a new orientation to the site. Herein lie critical components of the pedestrian experience and the most provocative opportunities from which to generate an experiential narrative. Like a finger running underneath words read from a book, the path introduces a story of site that unfolds at every step. Light can contribute to this reading both on and off the path. In one instance, light can reveal the pathways and connections as one scans the landscape or it can simply reinforce confident passage from one point to another. In either case, a quality and typology of light and fixture that is unique to the path will underscore its usefulness as the connective fiber between the various components on site. Not only do paths provide physical connection and access, they communicate the organizational underpinnings of the site, itself. Within each path, walkway and shortcut, are the conflicts and agreements made between the site and its visitors. Paths that are bordered by 8’ continuous iron fencing communicate a need for control where paths bordered with 2’ plastic fencing communicate visual accessibility. Paths that cut grassless curves between sections of sidewalk call into question certain organizational expectations about flow and efficiency. Similarly, paths that are flanked by cobra heads reflect the predominant values of cost efficiency over any regard for aesthetic integrity. Sites like parks and older neighborhoods that deploy “historic” lighting fixtures do so because it emphasizes the importance of those pathways as integral to the pedestrian’s reading of that experience.

examples: entrance to site, inner connection between housing, meandering, circuitous walkway

LIGHT SOURCE AS IT RELATES TO SITE: Threshold: The perception of source at the threshold of an organized exterior space is greatly dependant upon the context against which it is experienced. In many cases, this is a natural result of programmatic shifts that determine larger tempo changes or compressions of structure and path. How can source speak to the understanding of porosity, continuation, or barrier without an implicit organizational or typological component? In most cases, this is achieved through designâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural tendency to systematize and create visual order - public lighting is seldom improvised by the community but, rather, it is dictated by civic and private entities that use source as a way to identify their specific domains.

Path: Residential sidewalks that traverse away from a busy street leave behind the conflagration of moving car headlights only to encounter the vertical, patterned planes of highrise buildings. In this case, the understanding of source has transitioned from speed and transportation to rest and isolation. Every one of these sources could be identical in color and brightness, yet their groupings and scalar shifts would still carry a larger meaning.

Structure: Glare is the dead giveaway of structure. Without mystery, glare roots source in a systemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s basic root structure - HID lamps in the skeleton of a new high rise, in the repetition of stoplights in the distance, and the repetition of car headlights passing in the night. Structure is not the light from a car headlamp that reflects into your bedroom window from some unknown orientation but it is the headlamp itself, the unmistakable piercing that enters your vision from one location and disappears from another. This is elemental to our experience of the city. 63

APPENDIX B

MOVING TO DESIGN: WORKSHOP SUMMARY

Workshop #1: Reggie Wilson; a vocabulary of movement

On October 11th, 17 graduate students from across SCE, SDS and AMT gathered in Wollman Hall to participate in a movement workshop for non-movers. The workshop was led by choreographer Reggie Wilson as part of a series of events organized to get designers on their feet and moving. For the participants, there were no specific questions from either the choreographer or I on the table and we encouraged them to explore the workshop freely, with curiosity. The ultimate intention was to facilitate a structure wherein we could explore the craft of movement as a kind of design framework, one that could generate a kind of empathetic, spatial awareness. After a series of movement exercises, we spoke at length about this experience and what it was comprised of. Eventually, we were able to tie our observations back to three fundamental things: space, time and movement. Each is intrinsically tied to the other. Total Participants: 17 Workshop #2: John Jasperse; an anatomy of body, space and light On November 9th, the choreographer John Jasperse led a second movement workshop. Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exercises began from a very different point of investigation. Here, we were interested in the internal structure of participation and the architecture of the body. We spent the first half hour exploring the sensations of skin, muscle and bone in sequential stages. This new or heightened awareness of body layering was then asked to encounter the physical objects in the room. How does sensation transfer, what are the qualities of material, how do we perceive the structure around us? What began as a very individual meditation evolved to encompass the larger room and the other workshop participants. Next we identified objects and voids as spacial interventions which made a big impression on several people. 66

After several more group exercises we discussed our observations at length and ran the exercises again. This back and forth continued for the middle hour. In the last hour, we examined the act of construction as a performance, both as performer and spectator. In what ways does the role change? How does the “act” respond to the condition of being observed? This also challenged our assumptions about aesthetics and a shared impression of “completeness.” Finally, I provided 4 LED lights on long chords as new props in the construction process. This dramatically changed the dynamic and the focus of attention while further extending communal impressions of structure and completeness to the fuzzy peripheries. Total Participants: 8 Workshop #3: Dan Rothenberg; reading and performing space I held my last workshop with theatre director, Dan Rothenberg. The initial exercises in this workshop began very socially with actions like walking around one another in the room. The attention given to such a simplistic task immediately called into question the seemingly familiar, pedestrian space. A kind of structured interrogation into how we relate to each other in a shared, neutral space was framed largely around the “gaze.” How does the act of looking not only allow us to navigate and inspect but also to inform others of our experience? This grew into an activity centered around the “visioning of space” and presented an examination of communication through body language. This really began to generate a tactic for exploring empathy through invested observation. Total Participants: 7

Panel Discussion: Following the final workshop was a panel discussion with six panelists from movement and design backgrounds that collectively represented a tremendously unique and highly acclaimed body of work. Each panelist gave a 7-10 minute presentation of how movement 67

informs their own practice and it was followed by a moderated discussion, an open floor talkback and a reception. As the moderator, I attempted to draw parallels between the presentations given and identify several common threads. The discussion gave legitimacy to practices that facilitate engagement within the public narrative, whether formally in theatrical spaces or informally as public encounters. Panelists included: John Jasperse, Artistic Director, John Jasperse Projects Dan Rothenberg, Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director, Pig Iron Theatre Company Bill Shannon, conceptual, interdisciplinary dance, performance and video installation artist Mark DeChiazza, director, filmmaker, designer, and choreographer Kira Appelhans, artist and landscape architect

Moving to Design was supported by University Student Senate and School of Constructed Environments

APPENDIX C

Theory of Change

INDIVIDUAL

COMMUNITY

ASSUMPTIONS

INTERVENTION

- undefined and unprotected public space is unsafe and/or unavailable

- experience new aspects of public space

- new

- the individual can’t effect what public space offers

- experiment with new activities and uses of space

- kno

- space needs facilitation and protection by a larger institution

- observation

- it is the city’s job to define, provide and support public space to neighborhoods - space belongs to certain communities or territories

- it is the city’s job to provide access to public space

CITY

- it is the public’s job to use it - the city doesn’t know how to overcome community barriers

BUSINESSES/BID

PLAY

- facilitated gatherings breed interaction and conversation with others

-o

- dialogue reveals similar values

- re

- play and exchange with old and new neighbors

-n

- active City planning and participation in public space - invitation to open dialogue with City as part of the community - proactive integration of local stakeholders and civic leaders

-e

r s

- unused public space indicates disengagement

- businesses help to support event

- public space not a viable access point for commercial exchange

- experience their relationship to the public in new a new context

- public space is only for residents

- intermingle as part of the community

- play is dictated by the available programming

- play brings children and families together

- through play, people can more easily cross culture divides

- games reveal local information

-n sim

- kids demonstrate the building of bonds

-n

- it is not the job of public space to promote play

- storytelling

- la

- collaboration

-n

- play is only for fun

- references the mental image of the space

- light is a fixed part of the infrastructure

LIGHT

- con com

- more light = more safety / dark = danger - light is used to control people’s use of space

- supports access, program, safety and way-finding - modular portability illuminates movement and occupancy - special illumination for entrances and gathering spaces - facilitates activities and games

- refl

- ass

- serv a sen

- fun

- bec

OUTPUTS - new relationships - connection points with city and larger community

- active use of outdoor space leads to healthy people and families

- expanded community - recognition of communal value - new trust towards larger community and City

- new knowledge for how to improve space - an improved dialogue with community stakeholders - expanded practice for engagement through renewed outreach strength and empathetic strategies - reveals barriers that can be addressed

- stronger community bonds - social cohesion - safer neighborhoods - empowered communities

- immediate, small scale improvements can be made - active dialogue with community brings more responsiveness from the City and agency for the community - City resources and collaborative planning can address existing barriers

- identifies needs and opportunities - exposes potential customers to available resources - establishes communal platform for continued growth - stronger connections between proprietors and customers - new information about community similarities and shared languages - new methods of working together - larger, shared images of place - new bonds

- increased accessibility for businesses - brings investment to the area - successful local businesses strengthen community assets and neighborhood value

- common respect and appreciation for others - established language for building shared value -stronger multi-generational bonds - renewed joy of public space

e - reflects identity and community character - associated with people and use

- builds a visible sense of pride

- serves as an invitation to space and creates a sense of safety

- reinforces use and engagement with public space

- fun and playful not banal and minimal

- light = use = people

COMMUNITIES THRIVE THROUGH THEIR ENGAGEMENT WITHPUBLIC SPACE

- investment in the shared space makes it cleaner and safer, further increasing use

IMPACT

cleaner, safer, better schools, stronger business, pride, cohesion, social capital

- knowledge of space = sense of safety

- organizational identity

OUTCOMES

- becomes accessible and interactive James Clotfelter

APPENDIX D

LIGHT OBJECTS CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

1/8” white translucent plexi glass (60-80% transmission) 12v lithium ion battery

2 1/2”

LED harness LED strip plexi support shelf battery cavity

foam box core

1’

luan or hardwood shell

1 1/4” 1’ 1’

light box

inset solar PV board

1/8” white translucent plexi glass (60-80% transmission) 12v lithium ion battery

12v lithium ion battery (4800 - 6500mAh) 12-24V charge controller

2 1/2”

LED harness retrofit upper slat

LED strip plexi support shelf 1 1/4”

battery cavity

foam box core

luan or hardwood shell

2 1/2” retrofit lower slat

1 1/4”

LED strip (see strip reference chart) 1/8” white translucent plexi glass 2447 (60-80% transmission*)

1/2”

underlit park bench (with possible solar power)

solar PV board

internal frame and hanger

ithium ion battery (4800 - 6500mAh) 4V charge controller battery harness* battery**

ofit upper slat

tin can LED strip (see strip reference chart)

paper lantern***

ofit lower slat NOTES: *ensure fit with battery terminals **9-12v, types can vary (9v for low power LED) ***ensure can fits through top hole

strip (see strip reference chart)

white translucent plexi glass 2447 80% transmission*)

LED paper lantern