The Living Lot BLOWS UP at The Putting Lot competition
Bushwick, Brooklyn
After including recommendations in nearly every project regarding the creative temporary reuse of vacant lots, Interface Studio is very excited to participate in the actual transformation of one! The Putting Lot design competition asked entrants to submit proposals for one hole in a mini golf course that would be built on a vacant lot in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Our proposal was one of nine selected entries, which will temporarily pull us away from our map-making and other assorted computering to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty as we embark upon the construction of bird houses, modular native grass tiles, “chia cube gabions,” and other miscellaneous elements.
The conceptual intent of our proposal, The Living Lot, is to transform a portion of the Putting Lot into a hybrid landscape merging material elements typically found in gritty industrial districts with a wilder, more natural habitat. In addition to providing a challenging and informative course for human visitors, the course design intends to attract a wilder range of visitors: small mammals, birds, butterflies, and other urban wildlife. The concept also intends to use this course as a catalytic opportunity to breathe life into other vacant lots and slack spaces in the immediate neighborhood and beyond through the use of guerilla gardening tactics. Our proposal includes the suggestion that we be assigned the ninth hole in the course; upon completing the hole, patrons will exchange their golf balls for seed bombs (through the use of some yet-to-be-conceived-of contraption which we have lovingly named “DA BOMB!”), which they are free to throw anywhere they’d like to see a small patch of native wildflowers and grasses sprout up in a few weeks.
Clear some space in the social calendar–the grand opening of the Putting Lot is June 6th! Check their website for more details.
