In the summer months, modern-day Washington Square Park functions as a social oasis on seemingly unassuming land. Digging deeper, however, we discover a ground that is anything but neutral; in fact, it functioned as a haphazard burial plot for the remains of over 20,000 human beings and an execution ground for enslaved peoples in the early 1800s before it was transformed into the manicured park we see today. With both past and present in mind, the aim of this project is two-fold: first, to open up the park as a ‘public living room’ for 24/7/365 use into the winter and at night; and second, to re-center the park around the potter’s field as a way to respectfully recognize the park’s past. The design and size of the main structure, in tandem with the experience of user-controlled lighting in the sphere’s individual panels, draw from neuroscience research that indicates experiencing awe can help foster conflict resolution and open-mindedness–traits that were sorely lacking in the park’s past life and that still require much attention today.
