| Project | Self-initiated research project exploring geotextile customization |
| Location | Philadelphia, PA |
| Date | Design/ constructed 2009 |
| Collaborators | The Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia (RDA), the Urban Tree Connection |
Our ‘Not’ prototypes are part of the “Incremental Infrastructure” series. These installations addressed the issue of maintenance in vacant sites. The goal was to evaluate the versatility and performance of customized geotextile fabrics as the substratum for innovative ‘cleaning and greening’ strategies.
With generous support from PennDesign, PEG and PennDesign students installed the next test-plot, “Not Again,” on a 1,800 square foot site in West Philadelphia. This version experimented with a more intricate pattern and expanded the planting to include flowering drought-tolerant groundcover.
This project is only possible with the assistance of The Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia (RDA) and the Urban Tree Connection (UTC). The RDA provides nominal-fee leasing from its stock of approximately 5,000 vacant properties. The UTC has a long established community garden initiative which provides us with an in-place community network for project oversight after installation.
