Van Alen Work Samples

Spring 2021 The Plaza at 300 Ashland Downtown Brooklyn Public Realm R&D: Breathing Pavilion

by Ekene Ijeoma Part of Van Alen’s Public Realm R&D program, which surfaces the work of emerging designers and tests new strategies to bring people together in public space, Breathing Pavilion invited visitors to enter the pavilion and breathe in time with the changing light for a moment of communal meditation. The installation also hosted a weekly music series of site-specific performances featuring solo wind and percussion jazz musicians in meditative sets.

Photography Alisha Kim Levin (L); Kris Graves (R)

October 24, 2020 Flatiron Public Plaza Manhattan, NY Public Realm R&D: Point of Action

by Nina Cooke John Point of Action invited New Yorkers and visitors to contemplate the experience of seeing one another—and being seen—during a period of social isolation due to quarantine restrictions

Photography Cameron Blaylock

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October 2020 Restoration Plaza Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn Neighborhoods Now In June 2020, Van Alen Institute joined forces with Urban Design Forum to launch Neighborhoods Now, an initiative to mobilize our collective network of top interdisciplinary talent in support of community-led pandemic recovery efforts in four disproportionately impacted NYC neighborhoods. In this photo, donated plant barriers, which will mark safe social distances, are installed in Bed-Stuy’s Restoration Plaza.

Photography Cameron Blaylock

October 2020 Kingsbridge, Bronx Neighborhoods Now On the left, the Kingsbridge team helped beloved local restaurant Tropical Rotisserie design and build an all-weather outdoor seating area. On the right, the team commissioned Tats Cru, a world-famous graffiti artist group, to create and executed a bespoke mural that celebrates the resilience of the Kingsbridge neighborhood. The unveiling of the mural coincided with a community cleanup day also planned by the team.

Photography Carla Swickerath (L); Cameron Blaylock (R)

October 2020 Lower East Side, Manhattan Neighborhoods Now Neighborhoods Now also partnered with cultural institutions, like Fourth Arts Block on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, in order to provide specific reopening strategies tailored to small performing arts organizations, including ways to engage in NYC’s Open Culture program. In this photo, participants in Open Arts LES 2020 use floor markers to practice their movement safely.

Photography Shannel Resto

Fall 2020 Jackson Heights, Queens Neighborhoods Now The Jackson Heights team designed and executed flexible outdoor barriers and hanging plant bags to help small businesses reopen safely and attract new customers. The dining barriers for local restaurant Sompong Thai feature artwork from Jackson Heights artist Annabelle Popa. Before the Jackson Heights team began working with Sompong Thai, the restaurant was planning to shut down due to COVID-19.

Photography & Rendering Volunteer Architects Limited

Spring 2021 Gowanus, Brooklyn Neighborhood Design Fellowship: Gowanus Launched with the support of NEA’s Grants for Arts program, the fellowship is a paid, six-month program for up to 12 Gowanus residents to work toward the future they imagine for their community.

Offered in partnership with Dark Matter University, the program allows fellows to consider ways design and art can make Gowanus a more equitable, inclusive place.

Based on their learnings, fellows will co-create a large-scale graphic display for Van Alen’s storefront window, like the image above, and help Van Alen redesign our office at 303 Bond Street into a gathering space for the neighborhood.

Photography Scott Kelly

December 15, 2019 Stormwater Park, North Miami Keeping Current: A Sea Level Rise Challenge for Greater Miami Van Alen teamed up with the City of North Miami to launch a competition to transform an empty lot into a usable, public space. The winning design was developed into Stormwater Park which opened in winter 2019. The park highlights its role as a water-retention space, complete with a large central basin that collects water and reduces flooding for the neighborhood.

Photography Saul Martinez