Queensway Connection Enya competition
Cycle Cinema aims at generating a unique space for both the Ozone Park neighborhood and an attraction point for the wider New York City area by bringing everyday-life routines and Cinema together. We believe in the fact that media space and physical space cannot be seen as separate entities, rather they form an intertwined spatial order that is playfully addressed by this intervention.
The project features many facilities for the Ozone Park community, such as a canteen, a seating area and a multiple purpose community space. For cyclists there is a ‘bike kitchen’ for repairs and bike-tuning and a bike-rental. The former railbed is converted into a landscape: there is a separate bicycle and pedestrian lane, plenty of seating is provided. The plants used within the landscaping are native to the wider New York area: birch trees, golden rod, local grasses, goats beard and false indigo.
On top of the overall structure sits a cycle cinema. It is a platform providing bicycle slots for people bringing their own bike, parking it and watching a movie. Bicycles may be hanged on the cycle slots containing generators that feed the power provided by cycling on the slot into the project’s own lighting system. Through this intervention urban space is elevated off the ground and becomes a multi-level structure. Going one level up allows for another view of the cityscape. Cycle Cinema goes one step further and adds a second level to provide the possibility to gaze to the Manhattan skyline while watching a movie, either cycling or not. The sensitive gesture of leaving the old railway structure intact, excavating the load bearing elements and adding a few new interventions allows for an enjoyable everyday life. Cycle Cinema provides generous spaces for leisure time, wandering and exploring, for community activity or commuting by bike that ultimately strengthen the local neighborhood community and serve as an attractor to the wider area.