Sunset Corridor Canopy

PHILADELPHIA, 2023

Through a new collaboration with Mural Arts Education, with students from Philadelphia we spent a summer of artistic lighting, learning and placemaking. We activated once again the Sunset Corridor bringing new knowledge, participants and elements designed and built as a team.

Why?

For the youth to take ownership of their public spaces by creating and activating them themselves. And at the same time offer the community a safe and vibrant public space that they can inhabit and walk through during the night.

Where?

The youth decided to continue the work we started at the Sunset Corridor, a 120-meter-long pedestrian passage, which we activated in 2022 with the goal of turning it into a 24/7 community gathering place.

How?

LABORATORY:
LEARNING EXPERIENCES

During the summer we had 4 creative sessions where we learned about light and put it in contact with everyday materials. An acetate projector was our allied tool to play with transparencies, effects and colors.

COLLECTIVE
CREATION

In 3 more sessions, we worked in a workshop designing and constructing the parts of what would be our intervention in the Sunset corridor. We decided to use the same materials and color palette of the previous installation. Finally, we assembled it in place, making final tests and adjustments.

What?

PLACEMAKING

The concept developed in 2022 for the corridor was Sunrise-Sunset, intended for the interaction of natural and artificial light with the space at all times of the day. We took this as the basis for creating a permeable canopy in a section of the corridor that integrates seamlessly with the existing environment. It was built from interconnected chains of colorful and translucent material that zigzags between both sides of the corridor, and whose geometries remind us of the sun and its paths.

The chosen materials generate reflections on the floor surface when in contact with natural light. In addition, we accompanied this installation with warm string lights for the nighttime activation.

We all like to hang out in public spaces, so why not make them attractive and safe?

During the evening activation, a series of artistic workshops organized by the young participants took place. Many friends, families, representatives of Mural Arts and people from the local community joined us for the celebration and activities.