AMERICANWAY

DESIGN BY JAMES RAMSEY/RAAD, IMAGE BY KIBUM PARK/RAAD parks were a part of the city's heritage. An underground park would connect the past to the future. To turn his private passion for under- ground exploration into a destination for the community, Ramsey understood that technolog y and design would be essential to providing solutions. He imagined a device that would bring natural light into the dark- ness. "The underground spaces New Yorkers think about aren't very nice," says Barasch. "The missing element has always been the light, and there's nothing as nice as natural sunlight." Since the mid-1800s, the Lower East Side has been a melting pot for America's newly arrived immigrants that have included Ger- man, Irish, Jewish, Italian, Polish, Puerto Rican, Dominican and Asian ethnic groups. It was then, and continues to be, one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the world. A f ter the turn of the 21st centur y, a n influx of newcomers — including young art- ists, musicians, designers and professionals of Manhattan," Barasch, a former Google marketing manager, says. The trolley ter- minal happened to be in their neighborhood and had 60,000 square feet — about 1.5 acres of land. In 2009, Ramsey went to see the space. It was cavernous, grimy and damp and had been closed since 1948 when New York City ceased operating its trolley ser vice. Look- ing closely, Ramsey found relics of a bygone transportation era: trolley tracks and cobble- stones blanketed in dust, rusted chains hang- ing from the ceiling and pillars that were old but still standing strong. Some of the walls were covered in graffiti. Wouldn't it be great, Ramsey thought, to bring light to this basementlike place that would allow him to look through the remain- ing artifacts? Then he had an inspiration: Wouldn't it be ex traordinar y to build an underground park where trees and grass could actually grow and where the commu- nity could gather? A s a k id g row ing up in New York Cit y, R a m s ey w a s s omet h i ng of a n a m at eu r archaeologist. As an adult standing in the abandoned lot, he was moved by the idea that New Yorkers had a lways ma ximized space on a finite amount of real estate. City INNOVATION IF YOU LIGHT IT, IT WILL GROW: Without trees, plants, shrubs and grass, you don't have a park. The Lowline will use advanced solar technol- ogy to channel sunlight underground. 4 6 D EC E M B E R 2 01 4 A A .CO M/A M E R I C A NWAY

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