Urban Rest Stop

Syracuse, NY, 2014 | Role: Design-build, Winner, Urban Rest Stop Competition

Parting is a temporary, interactive installation of fabric enclosures that incorporated three site-specific artworks which engage the urban history and future of Syracuse, NY. The installation was designed to instigate a debate about the adjacent Interstate 81 Viaduct, which divides the city in two, separating the downtown from the University area. Located in a park, the installation  was comprised of translucent curtains, suspended on cables that spanned the park, resulting in a grid of curtains free to move amidst the trees, where visitors could manipulate their position to create urban rooms, artists created installations, and they could serve as a backdrop for videos and performance art. The mobile curtains offered visitors the chance to alter our urban environment, a performative metaphor designed to incite engagement in the ongoing debate about the future of the highway. After the installation, the components can be re-used across the city in a variety of configurations, from outdoor cinema to farmers market to high design construction fencing.