Sunset Corridor Canopy

PHILADELPHIA, 2023

In collaboration with Mural Arts Education, we spent a summer with students from Philadelphia teaching artistic lighting, learning and placemaking.

We were able to both cultivate an understanding of light among our participants and provide them with an opportunity to practice teamwork while reinvigorating Sunset Corridor by designing elements of the project.

Why?

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

Where?

The youth chose 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

Over the summer we held 4 creative sessions where we explored light and experimented with its effect on everyday materials. We used an acetate projector to play with transparencies, effects and colors.

COLLECTIVE
CREATION

In 3 additional sessions, we held workshops to design and construct 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, designed to highlight the interaction of natural and artificial light with the space throughout the day. From there we created a permeable canopy in a section of the corridor that integrated seamlessly with the existing environment. The final product was created with interconnected chains of colorful and translucent material that zigzagged across the corridor, evoking the geometry of the sun’s path.

The chosen materials generated reflections on the floor surface when exposed to 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. Friends, families, Mural Arts representatives and local community members joined us for the celebration and activities.