New York City's Next Big Thing #UndergroundPark

Me inside the Lowline Lab

In 2009, New York City announced the opening of the world's first elevated urban linear park, built over on an abandoned railroad. The park starts from Gansevoort Street in Meatpacking district and stretches all the way to 34th Street on 10th Avenue.

If we can have a park that hangs above the ground, can we possibly have one underneath the city streets?

Oh wait! We will have one soon! 

It's no longer a sci-fi fantasy, because someone is building an underground green park in downtown NY! Thanks to James Ramsey, the brain behind the game changing vision, the Lowline is a plan to use innovative solar technology to illuminate a long-abandoned historic underground trolley terminal and turn it into a public green space located on the lower east side of Manhattan. 

Let me present you --- The Lowline Lab: 

Me, strolling around the "underground park".

Although the actual park will not be ready until 2020, a prototype has been created for experiment and as a proof of concept. Inside the Lowline Lab, you will be able get a sense of what the actual park will be like, and how the solar technology works to bring natural sunlight inside the park. 

Those are real plants grew with natural sunlight.

The canopy that stretches over the installation is made of anodized aluminum. It helps soften the sunlight and diffuse it across the entire lab.

This is how the solar technology works:

Source: the Lowline

There are over 3,000 plants and dozens of unique varieties, spread across this small 1,000 square feet lab.

Those simulated canyon, made with terraced plywood, was inspired by the famous Antelope Canyon, a famous natural formation that I had visited in Arizona. (Photos can be found here.)

This is what the future park entrance should look like.

The Lab , located on 140 Essex Street, is now opened to public on weekends from 10-4pm until March 2016. Hurry! This is one site you should not miss!

This is their low profile entrance that can easily be missed.
The future park will be located a few short blocks away.

Halloween is tomorrow! What do you think of my snow white outfit? : ) And what are you guys planning to be? Head to the comment section and share your thought with us!

Photo credit: Hyun Jung Lim

Happy reading!

(Please note: All photos in my blog are taken by me, except the ones with me in it or stated otherwise, so please be respectful and do not use them without my consent.)