Tusculum Square

The strategic improvement of the vacant lot on the corner of Kensington Ave and Tusculum Street began as a graduate-level design studio at The University of Pennsylvania taught by Hinge Collective principals, Alexa Bosse and Ari Miller with NKCDC as a key partner. With the support of NKCDC and Hinge, the students performed the initial outreach and engagement that led to a conceptual design proposal, ultimately providing the catalyst for funding and implementation. With the realization of the student proposal for a healing space as the end goal, Hinge and NKCDC facilitated a series of incremental improvements with support of the Knight Foundation.

In the summer of 2018, Hinge attended community events with a prototype of a community message board, constructed by students, to ask community members to share their memories of and wishes for their neighborhood. The success of these interactions in identifying shared aspirations led to the “Wish Gallery” installation, where messages were paired with portraits taken by Chris Baker Evens and arranged in an outdoor gallery. The next phase of the project, completed in the fall of 2018, sought to shift perceptions of the space through small, strategic design moves implemented through a community build event that created a clean, green space bordered by custom planters and a ground mural on the sidewalk. NKCDC and Hinge have already observed trash being picked up by those who pass by and this space has already become a place of relative respite and peace.

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Timeframe: 2018 - present

Client: New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC)

Engagement Techniques Used:

• Series of neighbor meetings

• “Wish Gallery” interactive art installation

• Surveys with local community

• Cleanup Events

• Community Build

• Incremental Placemaking