Delancey Underground

An underground urban renaissance is to take place under the streets of Delancey, New York, USA.

Delancey Underground is looking to transform an abandoned underground trolley terminal into a thriving social and commercial space, nicknamed the ‘LowLine’. Inspired by the success of the High Line in creating a social, urban green space, the LowLine will provide a sunlit, vibrant green space for the residents of New York, and will transform the way New Yorkers, and the design community as a whole, think about underground urban design.

Remote skylights will gather sunlight, pass it through fibre cables, and deposit the light in wide sweeps throughout the underground space. This technology will not only lighten the space; it will provide substantial amounts of light for plants to grow underground, as they would above.

The new space, when completed, will be a gathering space for locals, and a magnet for the Lower East Side. It will provide fresh opportunities for year-round retail and promotion, and be a beautiful transit corridor to increase foot traffic through the green space. Most of all, it will be a showcase of Lower East Side creativity and innovation, and an example of sustainable, socially-minded design for years to come.

A large-scale demonstration event is due to take place in May 2012. For more information, visit www.delanceyunderground.org.