Lowline, Delancey Street Underground, Essex Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

In 2012, the project successfully raised over $150,000 from 3,300 backers on Kickstarter to create a full-scale exhibition of the solar lighting technology. The project was named by Mashable as one of the top Kickstarter projects of that year. In September 2012 an installation was opened on the Lower East Side to promote the project; titled "Imagining the Lowline," it consisted of a 30-foot wide aluminum solar canopy distributing natural sunlight onto a live cultivated landscape "park." The exhibit saw over 11,000 visitors and featured design talks, school visits, weekend street fairs and a political event. The executive producer of the exhibit was Robyn Shapiro and the industrial designer was Ed Jacobs with support from Brandt Graves.
Support
The project has been endorsed by politicians and organizations such as US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, NY State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Manhattan Community Board 3, and the Lower East Side business improvement district. Barasch and Ramsey worked with HR&A Advisors and Arup to complete a feasibility study outlining the cost to build the park, long-term business model and community benefits. The findings were released to various news outlets such as the Wall Street Journal. and New York magazine. The underground area borders the 1,650,000 square feet (153,000 m2) Seward Park Urban Renewal Area, for which the Economic Development Corporation has issued an RFP. The Lowline site is not included in the RFP as it is owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The Lowline team is currently working with the MTA, who won't contribute any funds, and city to gain access to build in the site as well as continuing with their fundraising efforts.