You’ve heard of the Highline. Next up: the Lowline – a proposal by Dan Barasch and James Ramsey, Co-Founders of the Delancey Underground project. These two young creative types (the same way the Highline started) found out about an old underground trolley terminal in the Lower East Side, 1.5 acres in size, that got them to thinking …
… what if we could build a park– underground– even if the space lacked natural sunlight? So we explored using fiber optic cables to transfer sunlight below ground– to support the growth of plants and trees. As we shared this idea with others, people got excited. “An underground High Line for the Lower East Side,” they’d say. “Kind of like… a LowLine.” The nickname stuck.
To build this park, we’re planning to use a cutting-edge version of existing technology– which we’ve already built in prototype. The system uses a system of optics to gather sunlight, concentrate it, and reflect it below ground, where it is dispersed by a solar distributor dish embedded in the ceiling. The light irrigated underground will carry the necessary wavelengths to support photosynthesis– meaning we can grow plants, trees, and grasses underground. The cables block harmful UV rays that cause sunburn, so you can leave the SPF-45 at home. Sunglasses optional (for cool kids).
Check this out:
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The heck with the underground park. The piped sunlight technology is the game changer! Install this in residences and office buildings, and you eliminate a healthy percentage of lighting needs and gain higher quality illumination. Flexible fiber easily directs the light as you wish, and has almost no energy loss. Tune the color spectrum correctly, and you could reduce Seasonal Affective Disorder (depression during short winter days in northern latitudes). The light capturing devices are perfect for rooftops. Could they also be skins on vertical surfaces? I remember how enchanted I was when a friend directed light to his suburban living room via a mirrored tube from the roof (a commercial product). The soft glow from the small dome on his ceiling was beautiful. C’mon, entrepreneurs and engineers of Rain City! Vancouver, the lighting capital of the world.