In my second semester at Parsons, I developed the research and design project “Bronx Germination.” After conducting fieldwork, I selected the site at 3rd Avenue–149th Street, a public seating area built on a raised platform above the train tracks. The site is adjacent to a subway station and schools, and consists of a series of circular concrete seats.

Once devastated by a wave of fires in the 1970s, the South Bronx remains marked by trauma, poverty, and spatial mistrust. Today, neighborhoods here reflect a mix of cultural diversity and urban resilience, yet public spaces are often treated as transient zones—passed through rather than occupied, lacking a sense of shared ownership.

在帕森斯的第二个学期我进行了“Bronx Germination”（布朗克斯的萌发）的研究设计，实地考察后我将项目选址在3rd Ave 149 Street。这是一个建立在铁轨上层平台的公共休息区，毗邻车站和学校，由一系列圆形水泥座位组成。

20世纪70年代，大火摧毁了南布朗克斯的大部分住宅社区，至今该区域仍受到贫困、失序与空间创伤的影响。虽然居民构成多元，包含不同文化背景、种族与年龄群体，但公共空间依然被人们视为“过渡地带”，缺乏归属感与主动使用的意愿。

During my fieldwork, I witnessed a strong sense of detachment and mistrust in the way community residents interacted with this public space. Although the plaza is located in a relatively established neighborhood—surrounded by residential buildings, shops, restaurants, and schools—it suffers from a lack of basic maintenance. Snow accumulates on the concrete seats, weeds grow wild, and litter is scattered across the site, with no visible efforts at cleaning or upkeep.

Moreover, unemployed individuals in the area even preferred to drag a worn-out sofa into this space to eat, rather than using the existing public seating. This behavior reveals a deep-seated disconnection from the space, reflecting both a lack of trust and a sense of exclusion. It highlights the urgent need to reimagine public space as something that people can genuinely relate to, participate in, and care for.

在实地考察过程中，我目睹了社区居民与这一公共空间之间充满距离感和不信任感的互动行为。尽管该空间坐落于一个相对成熟的社区，周边环绕着居民区、商店、餐厅和学校，来往人流密集，但现有的公共设施却缺乏维护与管理：水泥座椅上常年积雪未被清理，周边杂草丛生、垃圾散落。以致于附近的无业游民宁愿拖来一张破旧的沙发坐在角落里用餐，也不愿使用这些原本为公众服务的设施。这种行为反映出居民对空间缺乏归属感和信任感，也揭示了当前公共空间与其使用者之间存在的现实隔阂。

During my fieldwork, I witnessed a strong sense of detachment and mistrust in the way community residents interacted with this public space. Although the plaza is located in a relatively established neighborhood—surrounded by residential buildings, shops, restaurants, and schools—it suffers from a lack of basic maintenance. Snow accumulates on the concrete seats, weeds grow wild, and litter is scattered across the site, with no visible efforts at cleaning or upkeep.

Moreover, unemployed individuals in the area even preferred to drag a worn-out sofa into this space to eat, rather than using the existing public seating. This behavior reveals a deep-seated disconnection from the space, reflecting both a lack of trust and a sense of exclusion. It highlights the urgent need to reimagine public space as something that people can genuinely relate to, participate in, and care for.

基于这些观察，我试图将这个静态且被排除在居民日常生活之外的公共空间，重新定义为一个人与社区、自然共生并持续演化的生态系统。通过关注社区居民、动物、植物与空间环境之间动态而复杂的关系，我希望让公共空间不再是社区中的孤立节点，而是成为一个具有生命力的连接体。

我的目标是创造一个融合自然与人工元素的“生长体”——它能在时间的演变中逐步介入居民的生活，唤起空间归属感，并尝试修补社区与公共空间之间早已存在的裂痕。这一过程不仅是物理空间的再设计，更是一种关于信任、共处与重建关系的社会性回应。

Through material research and testing, I chose a design strategy that combines bioplastics with a tensile structure. Lightweight and easy to assemble, the structure offers essential environmental functions such as shade, rain protection, and wind resistance, making it well-suited for urban open spaces. Throughout its lifecycle, sunlight, air, animal excrement, vine growth, and even human intervention contribute to its gradual decomposition. This slow and unpredictable decay is not the end of the structure—but an intentional part of the design.

As the installation fades into the surrounding landscape, it transforms into a habitat for diverse forms of life, embodying a process of co-evolution between nature and humanity. The result is a transient yet sustainable spatial condition—a space that evolves over time, reflecting the dynamic equilibrium of ecosystems and bringing warmth and possibility to community life.

经过对材料的研究与测试，我最终采用了生物塑料与张拉结构相结合的设计方案。该结构轻盈便捷，易于搭建，具备遮阳、防雨、防风等基本功能，适用于城市开放空间。在其生命周期内，阳光、空气、动物排泄物、藤蔓植物的生长，甚至人为破坏，都会成为促使其逐步降解的自然力量。

这一缓慢且充满偶然性的衰变过程并不意味着结构的终结，而是设计理念中的重要组成部分。随着时间推移，装置将逐渐融入周边环境、消隐于景观之中，并转化为多种生命的栖息地。

To address the shortcomings of the existing circular concrete seating—rigid, cold, and prone to creating distance between users—I designed a modular, movable lounge seating system that enhances both comfort and social engagement in public space.

During the material experimentation phase, I wove together discarded newspapers and used denim to create a soft yet structurally stable outer layer. This was then coated with a layer of beeswax through high-temperature processing, giving the surface water-resistant, dirt-repellent, and weather-tolerant qualities, while maintaining the tactile warmth of natural materials. The interior is filled with a mix of fabric scraps and shredded sponge, making the modules lightweight and easy to transport or reconfigure.

The individual seating units are interconnected using a rope-knot system, allowing them to be securely attached to the existing concrete seats or arranged freely depending on the user’s needs. This system not only promotes material reuse and sustainability, but also injects warmth, flexibility, and social potential into the rigid geometry of the urban plaza—encouraging closer, more comfortable interactions among community members.

为改善原有环形水泥座椅生硬、冰冷且容易拉开使用者之间距离的缺陷，我设计了一套可灵活拆卸与移动的懒人沙发系统，旨在提升公共空间的舒适度与可参与性。

在材料试验阶段，我选择使用废旧报纸与废弃牛仔布进行编织，创造出既柔软又具有一定支撑性的表面层。外层覆盖一层高温处理的蜂蜡膜，赋予其防水、防污与一定程度的耐候性，同时保留天然材质的触感与温度。内部填充由废弃布料与碎海绵组成，质地轻盈，便于搬运和组合。

沙发模块之间通过绳扣系统相互连接，使用时可固定在原有水泥座椅的背后，也可根据实际需求灵活摆放或组合。整体系统不仅实现了材料的再利用，也在有限的城市空间中注入了温暖、松弛与可变的互动可能性，鼓励人与人之间更加亲密的空间交流。