Transcript:
On a hot afternoon in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the family often eats a long picnic table around a long picnic table that rolls in the wind.
This is an art installation and gathering space designed for shadows is a social justice project.
Zarazua: “We are looking at ways in which summer can bring temporary shadows…and it has also sparked imagination and creativity to get people’s interest.”
Claudia Zarazua runs a city-led program.
As the climate warms, the heat wave becomes stronger and stronger. And it's hard to find places to cool, especially in areas with several shaded trees.
Therefore, the program provides artists and designers with funding to create shadow structures in five locations.
Architect Alejandro Saldarriaga Rubio helped design the installation at Russell Field, which not only provides temporary shadows.
The wooden poles secure the mesh fabric as a stake and support the young saplings planted last year.
Therefore, for now, the mesh fabric can provide shade.
Saldarriaga Rubio: “Until the trees are fully grown, these specific trees will be trees that provide shade.”
So, over time, the installation will become a permanent shadow space, and the community can stay cool as the climate warms.
Report Credit: Sarah Kennedy/Chavobart Digital Media
Repost our articles for free under the Creative Commons license, online or in print.
