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Read the press release here.

Lowline Lab to Showcase Underground Park's Technology This Weekend

By Lisha Arino | October 15, 2015 5:51pm
 The Lowline Lab, opening on Oct. 17 at 140 Essex St., will give visitors an idea of what the proposed underground park will look like while allowing the team to experiment with the technology and plant life.
Sneak Peek of the Lowline Lab in the Former Essex Street Market
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LOWER EAST SIDE — What would an underground park look and feel like?

It may be years before anyone knows for sure, but a five-month exhibition opening Saturday will give visitors an idea of what they could see if the Lowline is able to build a park in an old trolley station under Delancey Street.

The Lowline Lab, located in the former Essex Street Market building at 140 Essex St., will allow visitors to walk through a short landscaped path filled with thousands of plants sustained by sunlight piped into the building using a system of mirrored collectors, lenses and reflectors.

“It’s very, very, very cool,” said co-founder Dan Barasch.

The exhibition will also feature panels that delve into the science behind the project as well as its history and anticipated trajectory.

But the Lowline Lab is more than just an exhibition of the technology they plan to use at the park.

“It’s an active experiment,” said co-founder James Ramsey, explaining that the space may shift slightly over the five-month period based on the data gathered.

The Lowline team will track the technology’s functionality as well as the plants’ responses to the environment, they said. The team will also be playing close attention to how the public interacts with the space over the next few months.

“In the wintertime, in January, when it’s miserable out there, what will people want to do in here and how will it feel for people?” Barasch said.

“That’s the social experiment, right, of ‘how does this become something that is more than just a clinical science experiment but something that has a community-oriented feel?’”

The founders also plan to host school and community groups during the week as well as the Young Designers Program, which uses the project to encourage kids’ interest in science and technology.

Community programming is also planned in the lab, with a “Bright Ideas” speaker series featuring artists, philosophers, architects and other individuals the team finds inspiring, Barasch said.

The Lowline Lab is open every Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. through March 2016. Admission is free.