On the Other Side
Done in collaboration with Yeju Choi as Yeju & Chat
2017
Lithocrete, lilyturf planting
500’ x 25’ x 3’ (a city block)
Cambridge, MA

Commissioned by the Cambridge Arts Council, On the Other Side transforms a previously neglected street that pedestrians avoided into a public space and connector for key amenities nearby.

The project integrates art into the reconstruction of the street to increase the quality of life for the community and create a sense of place. The project embeds colors, patterns, textures, and playful terrains in the sidewalk, encouraging all ages to engage with their surroundings and prompts unexpected interactions among the public. The project is meant to bring play into the everyday built environment.

As part of the design process, we facilitated multiple workshops in October 2014 with young people at a nearby Montessori School to understand how children respond to their everyday surroundings and how this piece can affect their creative and physical developments. On the last day of the workshops, we asked the children to illustrate their visions for redesigning the street. Their ideas on creating obstacle courses and more playful spaces was influential in the design of the pattern and sculptural mounds.

The project gives people multiple options on how to creatively engage with the sidewalk. Since it has been open, we have observed cyclists follow the curves of the color bands, children jump from one color band to another, people on bikes, scooters, and skateboards ride over the mounds, and people of all ages sit on the mounds under the trees. We intentionally did not prescribe any functions to the work or exclude any activities in order to encourage a sense of openness and play.

Special Thanks:
Tobin Montessori School

Engineering:
Kleinfelder

Construction:
T.B. Penick & Sons, Hardcore Skatepark, P. Gioioso & Sons