Lowline Lab

"The Lowline Lab is a long-term public laboratory and installation piece. Built inside an abandoned market on the Lower East Side, the Lowline Lab mimics conditions in the future lowline to create a variety of experiences and technical experiments. James Ramsey, his team at Raad Studio,and Korea-based technology company Sunportal designed and installed optical devices which capture and concentrate natural sunlight. The sunlight is sent into the warehouse through a series of tubes, directing full spectrum light into a central distribution nexus. A solar canopy then spreads out the sunlight across the space, providing light critical to sustain the plant life below. The landscape, designed by RAAD Studio and Signe Nielsen of Mathews Nielsen, is composed of over 3,000 plants and dozens of unique varieties, spread across 1,000 square feet. The Lab gives us the opportunity to study plant life in the same type of environment as the future Lowline, and will help determine which types of plants will grow best underground."