Movement on Main (competition)

Location: Syracuse, New York

Collaborators: Great Ecology . Transsolar . Kestrel Design . PPM

 

The concept for this five-block streetscape is organized by three guiding, interrelated objectives that promote healthy living for all who live and work within the neighborhood. The three objectives – Meditate, Move, and Collaborate – define the design program and physically organize the site in a linear method, from west to east. Fitness of the mind (collaborate), body (move) and soul (meditate) are essential to holistic well-being; these ideas are interlaced into an interactive neighborhood street where all design interventions foster a socially, economically, programmatically, and environmentally-sustainable environment.

The negative effects of urban spaces on people and the environment are diminished through the wise use and reuse of valuable limited resources and the reintroduction of urban nature. The design encourages year-round passive and active gatherings within a flexible framework to be populated by diverse programs and events. At the Art Lab and Dancing in the Streets, the plan centers on sustaining and improving the neighborhood iconography and built fabric; highlighting artistic gestures that come from the community and providing the infrastructure needed to establish timeless, functional, and democratic civic space.