Park(ing) Day 2011: paARRRRrk-let!

Come join Interstice Architects in front of 826 Valencia in the Mission for Park(ing) Day San Francisco 2011!

The volume of just one parking space is 800 cubic feet – which is equivalent to the minimum soil required for an urban tree to thrive.  Using recycled wood palettes, we are installing a temporary story space/nursery, and in deference to the corsair spirit of our friends at 826 Valencia, our paarrrrk-let prototype will proclaim our proclivity for parking-space piracy in proper privateer practice.  The parklet re-uses a waste stream material to create a multi-tiered space for people to lounge ‘on deck’ in the shade of an urban tree.  The space defined by the outer edge of the pallets represents the soil the tree needs to develop a healthy and stable root system.

Our parklet illustrates not only how a parking spot can be transformed into an urban nursery, but how a temporary nursery space for a tree can also become a community social space.  Tapping into our interest discussed in former posts regarding our research into Public Green Networks, we envision a system of both permanent and temporary urban nursery spaces that add a new dimension of verdant social space to the evolving ‘green’ urban fabric of the city.  More on this idea in posts to come.

So please, make sure to stop by our paarrrrk-let and check out our park(ing) day page on the Parking Day DIY Network, where you can find mapped locations for parking day installations across the city, and take a look at all the different people and organizations participating in Park(in) Day this year!  We would like to extend a special thanks to Rebar for their excellent organization of the worldwide event, and for starting this great tradition 6 years ago!