THE BROOKLYN PARADE WORKSHOP

​

YALE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN 4 

CRITIC: ELIHU RUBIN

SPRING 2022

TEAM: ETHNIE XU, SOSA ERHABOR

​

THE BROOKLYN PARADE WORKSHOP IS A HUB FOR ALL OF BROOKLYN'S PARADE ORGANIZATIONS. AS WE STUDIED BROOKLYN'S MANY LAYERS, WE FOUND PARADES TO BE A PARTICULARLY COMPELLING REPRESENTATION OF THE CITY IN THE WAY THAT THEY FUNCTION AS EPHEMERAL ARMATURES OF COMMUNITY. WHILE INDIVIDUAL PARADES SEEMINGLY OCCUR ONCE PER YEAR, ALL OF BROOKLYN'S PARADES COMBINED FOLLOW A YEAR LONG LIFECYCLE. THAT SAID, WE FOUND AN OPPORTUNITY TO BOOST BROOKLYN'S EXISTING PARADE ORGANIZATIONS AND ENCOURAGE NEWCOMERS BY DESIGNING A PARADE ECONOMY, WHERE A CENTRAL WORKSHOP HOUSES THE PHYSICAL MATERIAL OF PARADES AS WELL AS SPACES FOR REHEARSALS AND PLANNING. ZOOMING IN ON THE PHYSICAL MATERIAL OF PARADES - ITS FLOATS IN PARTICULAR - WE FOUND POTENTIAL IN USING THE STRUCTURES OF PARADE FLOATS AS A FRAMEWORK FOR OTHER SOCIAL PROGRAMMING. FOR EXAMPLE, THE PRIDE PARADE FLOAT, WHICH HAS AREAS FOR DANCING AND WAVING, ALSO FUNCTIONS AS A FOOD KITCHEN WHEN NOT IN USE IN THE PARADE. THIS FOOD KITCHEN CAN BE DEPLOYED AT VACANT LOTS IN FOOD DESERTS SUCH AS THE BEDFORD-STUYVESANT AREA. IN THIS WAY, WE HOPE TO APPLY SOCIAL PROGRAMS TO PARADE FLOATS AS A WAY FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO FURTHER THEIR NEEDS. 

​

SITE: BROOKLYN, NY

​