PAST had a great experience partnering with Placemakes on an exciting public space project: The Gay Street Parklet.
So what’s a Parklet? They are small but important public spaces in local urban neighborhoods. Parklets offer a place to stop, sit, and rest while taking in the activities in the area. These small but powerful actions are intended to transform and improve city life.
Parklets are designed and built, then placed in a single parking space as a temporary installation to create interesting and engaging public spaces. The Gay Street Parklet was installed in April and will be coming to the PAST Innovation Lab in July. We are very excited to have the opportunity to share the Parklet with students and teachers.
“The Parklet project is one way we help students re-imagine common things, like parking spaces,” said Chris Brandon, PAST’s Project Manager who helped lead the Parklet initiative. “We want kids to always wonder “what if” and this type of project is a great way to expose them to new, inventive thinking.”
Many Partners Made It Happen
Designed by Darin Hadinger and the team at Transit Columbus, the parklet is 8-feet wide, 22-feet long and topped with solar panels. Applied Experience, LLC (AXP) fabricated, built and contributed to the design of the Parklet.
AXP, a design and engineering firm, has partnered with PAST in a social enterprise to expose students to commercial and community projects. In the case of the Parklet, students helped with the fabrication of components using a CNC router and contributed to assembly and install.
Funding and support for this project came from OhioArts, AXP, Transit Columbus EccoLyfe Designs, 5th Ave. Lumber, Brioso Coffee, PAST Foundation and PAST Innovation Lab.
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