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the Tsunami a rubbernecking experience

The Tsunami is an urban landscaping proposal designed for the NYC Arts in the Parks Program on Park Avenue. Every year sculptural proposals are accepted by the program for the iconic avenue which has one of the widest green strips. Our proposal covers the whole width of the strip and spans the length of two city blocks without disturbing the existing vegetation.
The Tsunami is an undulating red wave that creates surprising landscaping moments with the use of grass, sedum, flowers, solar paneling and LED light fixtures all of which are supported with a red carbon fiber structure. The structure arches over the 57th street crossing with a dynamic swoop and creates a memorable urban space lit with solar lights. The tsunami is not for people to gather however, there is nowhere to stand but a crosswalk. It is more for an artful rubbernecking experience (for the lack of a better word), provided for drivers stuck in traffic, better than cell phone use we think. We hope the Tsunami will become a reality soon and exhibit the uplifting potential of imagination, landscaping and sustainable urban design in NYC.
See other sustainable projects.

The stunning archway above will have sufficient clearance for vans and cars. Oversized vehicles won't be allowed to pass during the exhibit.  The diagrams below show the fabrication layers starting with the green vegetation layer on top, descending to landscaping layers such as fabrics, root growth medium, moisture regulating and drainage layers, insulating membrane, the red fiber paneling and finally the carbon fiber structure in a variety of tube sizes. 

Principal Architect

Selim Vural, AIA

Project team

Toprak Sahin

Year

2023

Phase

to be submitted soon

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