© Kees Lokman, courtesy of Design Trust for Public Space

"The Four Mile Farm"

October 2009 Field Guide

Anthony McCall

Pierpaolo Barzan

Subodh Gupta

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Urs Fischer

Andy Warhol: Mr. America

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An ideas competition cosponsored by the Bronx Museum of the Arts and Design Trust for Public Space has challenged architects and city planners to reimagine the Bronx’s Grand Concourse for the 21st century. Since its construction in 1909, the four-mile Concourse has evolved from a tree-lined promenade in the style of the Champs-Élysées to a boulevard used exclusively for car traffic. In "Intersections: Grand Concourse Beyond 100-Future," the Bronx Museum will showcase seven finalists’ designs, with up to 50 more submissions viewable online. A total of 400 submissions from 25 countries were received before the contest deadline in early May. One plan envisions the Concourse as a farm, providing jobs and locally grown food. Another calls for installing "percussive lampposts," which, when tapped, amplify sound to foster impromptu "jamming." Yet another proposes a thoroughly wired neighborhood, in which pedestrians can communicate with people in 15 cities around the world through interactive walls. Finalists’ ideas will be presented to city officials following the public exhibition.

grandconcourse100.org

"Intersections: Grand Concourse Beyond 100–Future" originally appeared in the October 2009 issue of Modern Painters. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Modern Painters' October 2009 Table of Contents.