The Uni

Bring it home

Sam — Mon, 14 May 2012 10:31:59 +0000

After nearly three months, I’m due to come off the road next week, and this will be my last post on tour. I’m grateful to everyone back home, especially Leslie and our partners who have been hard at work on the fabrication of the second Uni structure. Thanks also to our Uni supporters abroad who reached out while I passed through forty or so cities.

In the next few days, I’m pushing through Stockholm, Berlin, and Hamburg—three cities that I love, and three cities that have directly inspired our work on both the Storefront Library and the Uni. Here’s a look back.

In 2009, we were developing the Storefront Library (a temporary, multilingual library in a vacant storefront in Boston’s Chinatown), and I read about the opening of a special library branch in Stockholm. At the time, I wrote:

“We’ve been exploring the concept of “library outposts,” a term which we trace to Nate Hill, Head Librarian of the Greenpoint Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library… In Sweden, the library outpost idea seems to be well underway in the form of mini-branch libraries in Metro stations…” (read full post)

Soon after this post, a 2010 tour took me to Stockholm, and I went underground and met with the librarians in this remarkable mini branch.

Here’s a post with more photos showing details of the space, many of which we directly incorporated into the Storefront Library and later in the Uni. Sweden is in our work. Tak!

On to Berlin. Berlin’s grand central library needed renovation in 2010, and what I encountered there was inspirational—a German-engineered solution to keep the library alive in containers while the renovation was underway.

Looking back at my photos and notes, I was so obsessed with a library in containers that, on departing, I barely looked back over my shoulder at the permanent branch, probably one of the grandest in the world. I’m laser-focused on the act of transforming spaces, not so much the spaces already transformed. And I’m moved by people who can do this transformation with speed, efficiency, and guts normally reserved for commercial endeavors, say, like building BMWs. So Berlin is also in our work. Danke!

Finally, on to Hamburg. Here is a photo from 2008 of a moment where I suddenly began to understand more clearly what I wanted to do through our work.

This is Fabrik, a former factory space in Hamburg Germany which has been transformed into a community center, hosting a day care center in the morning, a teen gathering place in the afternoon, and a venue for music, lectures, and community events in the evening. When we arrived to set up for our show, the kids’ skate ramp was just being removed from the stage and the roller blades packed into the same type of road cases we use for audio gear. Our sound check was delayed by 30 minutes so the kids could be picked up by their parents.

This is the kind of world that I want to live in—where we make the best of the spaces we have, share them, and have stronger communities for it. Perhaps more than the libraries I have visited, Fabrik’s multipurpose neighborhood institution lies at the core of what the Uni means to me. And so Hamburg is also in our work. Ich bin dankbar.

Again, I’m grateful to everyone at home and abroad who has given me the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work around the globe and experience these places over the years. With the Uni now in hand, I’ve never felt more excited and empowered to give back some of what I’ve taken in. Let’s do this. See you in a week.

Norwegian resistance

Sam — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:48:43 +0000

Nearly a year ago on July 22, we temporarily suspended our Uni Kickstarter campaign when we learned what had happened in Oslo. Later that week, I wrote:

[We] suspended our fundraising outreach for a time while our thoughts were with Norwegian friends. We’re returning to work, but we are not turning the page. All cities rely on a special kind of public trust necessary for living so closely together, but in Oslo (and all Norway perhaps) this trust runs especially deep. We have always admired this and sought it for our own community. It is incredibly painful when this trust is broken and children are victims. It makes us determined to build cities where this kind of harm is even more rare. Peace.

Today, I’m in Oslo, staying a few blocks from where things started to go horribly wrong nearly a year ago. On a walk this morning, I recalled feelings in New York that accompanied my own return to daily life in Lower Manhattan over a decade ago. I remember that familiar things, like walking to the park with my daughter, seemed alien. And I wanted that feeling to go away, but all at once, I didn’t want to let go or forget. I imagine some Norwegians feel this way now.

I know that the Uni, for Leslie and me, is part of a process of rebuilding. From time to time, horrible things happen; there are violations of the trust underlying our cities and societies. But, what we do the day after, and every day thereafter, to pick ourselves up and keep going, is most important I think. In that light, the Uni is simply the tool I was wanting on Sept. 12, 2001 to take back my neighborhood and my life.

This morning, I was drawn to a square in downtown Oslo, where Norwegians did something remarkable to take back their city. Of course, Norwegians know something about resistance (See Wiki: Norwegian Resistance Movement). But more recently, this April, over 40,000 of them gathered in a square in the heart of Oslo for a simple, defiant act: sing a song. (In a nearby courtroom, the accused murderer sat and most likely heard the rendition of a song celebrating racial harmony that he had professed to despise.)

(YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGlKBCsEYPk&feature=related)

I love how a public square, a fairly dreary one actually, became alive with meaning because of what people gathered to do. The history of this Oslo square was written that day, not by urban planners, politicians, architects—the professionals who tend to take credit for making great places. Often, the most remarkable things in our cities, just rise up and happen, I think.

Today, the square was getting ready for a public market in a light rain:

I cleared my head with a walk to the water to visit the stunning Operahuset, designed by Snøhetta. I deeply respect the talent and effort of all who built it, but I feel like the elegant place has yet to be filled with the meaning of the more pedestrian square nearby that was overtaken by a single song. That said, this opera house was built to last by an enduring people—I expect that something remarkable will happen here too someday.

Skål Norway!

PS. There is a new movement to use containers to seed more culture and retail on the Oslo waterfront, actually. More on this in further posts.

Manchester is in the Uni

Sam — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:16:20 +0000

In 2003, Leslie visited with staff at Urbis, a newly-opened institution in Manchester which was essentially about comparative urban studies–a kind of museum of the city and city-living in general. We loved this idea: a whole museum devoted to the urban experience. At the time, Leslie had just left working at a history museum about New York City, and she was thinking about how to create a network of storefront institutions that could connect urban dwellers around the globe, city-to-city, with programming, exhibits, idea exchanges, and services. What she had in mind was similar to Urbis but distributed and lightweight.

In subsequent visits, I learned that Urbis had closed. In Manchester this week, I saw that plans have gone ahead to install a Museum of Football in its place. This will probably sell more tickets to pay for such a grand building, but the decision is a disappointment to me. The underlying motivation to create Urbis, I think, is more important than sports right now. Don’t give up on it. Whether the heart of Manchester’s downtown should have a sports museum or Urbis is not really my business, but I hope someone starts Urbis anew in Manchester, this time in a smaller storefront. I’ll be rooting for that team.

In a small way, we’ll be plugging away at these ideas this summer when we have a Uni operating in NYC and another operating half-way around the globe, in Almaty, Kazakhstan. More info to come soon about both projects.

Wiki entry on Urbis here.

Former site or Urbis. Future site of Football Museum. Manchester.

The Uni on the Lower East Side

Leslie — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:40:33 +0000

The Uni’s purpose-built structure and growing collection of browsing books for kids and adults make it possible to turn on a dime and create an outdoor reading room almost anywhere. On Saturday, with Sam on tour, I brought the Uni out of storage myself and drove it in a truck to Broome Street and Sara D. Roosevelt Park, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. There, with the help of many volunteers, we set up the Uni as part of a free, family event called “Readapalooza,” sponsored by the early education organization Jumpstart.

Jumpstart volunteer arranging books with only one arm!

Uni in the "pit" at Sara D. Roosevelt park.

The Uni is made to partner, and this deployment was a great chance to see how the Uni could provide a venue for some of Jumpstart’s literacy programs, such as inviting kids to read Uni books aloud with Jumpstart’s trained volunteers.

Some of Jumpstart's volunteers, reading aloud to children.

Two of my favorite books in use: Not a Box, and (in the background) a little flip book showing a view of Buenos Aires, day-to-night.

Tangram puzzles are always a big hit.

College students from Pace, NYU, CUNY and Stonybrook - all Jumpstart volunteers - help load the Uni back into the truck.

And that was it! Jumpstart registered 150 families over the event’s 3 hours, most of which each had two kids in tow. Thanks to Jumpstart for inviting us and hope to see some of these folks again at our Uni deployments in other parts of the city this summer. Stay tuned.

Spring Cleaning

Sam — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:08:41 +0000

The cubes are cleaned up and ready to go. Resource efficient, we used a light rain shower to remove the winter dust. A downspout, sponge, and a towel is all you need to clean a Uni.

The Uni will come out on Saturday, April 28, 2012, from 11am – 2pm, at Sara D. Roosevelt Park on the Lower East Side (Broome St b/w Forsyth and Chrystie) in New York City. We’ll be there as part of a kid-oriented “Read-A- Palooza” festival sponsored by early education and literacy organization, Jumpstart. Lots of books to read and fun activities. Join us.

Please note that our Boston office address has changed. A larger transition is also underway which will eventually relocate our base of operation from Boston to New York, while continuing to do work in both cities. Stay tuned.

Canada: XL and XS

Sam — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:16:59 +0000

[Another post from Sam on tour—explanation here.]

48 hours in Montreal and Toronto gave me a chance to visit one of the largest and then one of the smallest branch libraries I know. I’m all for both, but you know where my heart lies. I love small, especially for cities, and I think now is the moment for small, especially as we try to understand what’s next for public space and libraries alike.

Here’s the Grande Bibliothèque in downtown Montreal:

Inside are exhibits, food, a soaring lobby with seating, and a security guard who reminded me that photography is not permitted, even in the outer lobby/atrium. Perhaps this last shot from my Montreal hotel window sums it up best: extra large and somewhat distant:

Now, cut to Toronto, the next day. Here’s the mini-branch of the Toronto Public Library, located inside City Hall:

Putting a little library right where people already go.

An interesting project to read books together in the city.

Some local titles about the city and city hall, for sale in the branch.

You are here. Library in a City Hall.

City Hall Plaza

Skating and recreation built into the City Hall Plaza. How about a Uni?

And just across the street, an interesting idea...

...a mini-rainforest in the city. "Indoor" public park.

A little history makes places better

Sam — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:54:20 +0000

[Another post from Sam on tour—explanation here.]

When we wrapped up the Storefront Library, we wanted to create another small-scale, public space centered on books and learning. To get started, we wiped the slate clean and tried to envision an institution from scratch, starting with the needs of urban residents and neighborhoods, not just existing service models like libraries and community centers. To sustain this train of thought, in our discussions we used a generic name “urban neighborhood institution (UNI)” as a kind of proxy. Pretty soon, the office was covered in folders and whiteboards with the acronym UNI, and, over time, the placeholder just stuck. In the end, we liked the way it sounded: small, approachable, like “mini university.”

Libraries, of course, are part of the Uni’s DNA. But just as important are history museums, historical societies, and local history efforts. To honor that “heritage,” I decided to visit the Chicago History Museum.

This summer in NYC, we’ll be attempting to bring to the street a bit of what these museums and cultural institutions offer behind their walls. If you are an NYC-based institution or programming organization interested in filling a cube, let’s partner!

Chicago is in the Uni

Sam — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:55:39 +0000

[Another post from Sam on tour—explanation here.]

Ten years ago, residents of lower Manhattan were given a chance to tell planners what should be rebuilt in our neighborhood after Sept. 11, 2001. I made one suggestion: visit Chicago and the Old Town School of Folk Music.

Old Town is probably my favorite institution in the world. It is a compelling place to perform music, and it is a role model for creating meaningful, community-oriented programming in an urban setting. More than a music school, it is an institution rooted in a neighborhood, serving an entire city, and known the world over. When we sat down to begin work on the Uni, the first thing I wrote on the whiteboard was “Old Town.”

Let me count some of the ways:

The "old" building on one side of the street.

The new building on the other.

Mayor Emanuel could honor Old Town by installing a mid block crosswalk.

Inside: classes, performing and rehearsal space, a music store, cafe, resource center. Placemaking.

Inside the new building, fancier...

...but the same hand-written, home-grown details.

Cut to another neighborhood, just a few stops away, Old Town School maintains a storefront. (It actually pre-dates the new "uptown" buildings.)

Jerry watches over the flyers at the front desk.

Strollers parked in front of images of folk heroes. Passing the torch.

Oakland and the Uni have history

Sam — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 23:19:46 +0000

[Another post from Sam: libraries and public space on tour—explanation here.]

24 hours in the Bay Area, and I didn’t cross the Bay Bridge. Thinking back, I sought out a place that inspired us in 2009: the Asian Branch of the Oakland Public Library and Oakland Asian Cultural Center. Back then, we met with the librarians who run this multilingual (eight language) public library branch. At the time, we were embarking on our Storefront Library, which would offer books and cultural/community events in Boston’s Chinatown.

This visit, the branch was closed and under reduced hours. But the logic of the place is still undeniable: a culturally rich, public library in the heart of an open air mall directly adjacent to a cultural performing arts space. (New York and Boston are now at work on similar ideas/adjacencies, actually.)

Here are photos of Asian Branch when we visited in 2009:

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On other fronts, there’s a new, interesting project emerging in Oakland called The Green Branch Library. In September 2011, we were contacted by Shari Leskowitz, who was leading a group of volunteers in developing a new youth library in Oakland with a special focus on social justice and environmental issues. We talked about the pros and cons of all kinds of alternative models for creating a space and providing access to books. Her library is now opening in the Berkeley Farmers’ Market on April 14. Congratulations!

Finally, on the way out of town, I ran past this little bookstore that raises money for the local library system.

Next stop Chicago.

Los Angeles Public Library

Sam — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:08:52 +0000

[Another post from Sam: libraries and public space on tour—explanation here.]

Here’s a postcard from LA and a few thoughts about learning and public space. With only 24 hours and without my own ride, I could not hit the outlier libraries and little institutions on my LA list. However, the central branch is next door to my hotel. So today’s post stays “local.”

Around libraries and playgrounds, I see lots of public art with an educational bent. The stuff seems easy to do and hard to do well. A classic example of this kind of art is the scale model of something big, like the solar system, which is one of my favorites, actually.

The other end of the spectrum is public art that references learning and knowledge in a more unintelligible, impressionistic way. This generally doesn’t work for me. I have an obsession with learning, so when I see an inscription or a formula engraved on a wall, I’m ready to go further than most artists seem willing to take me. I’d rather you show me a single formula and make me understand it, rather than show me twenty like a decorative wallpaper pattern.

One of the origins of the Uni is a desire to go deep like that—whether the topic be math, history, or science—and to do it in public space. We think this will support a broader culture of learning and showcase the work of librarians, teachers, and thinkers. Here on the plaza of the LA Library, with so much going on just inside the walls of the library, couldn’t we bring a little more of it to the sidewalk out front? The Uni nods, yes.

LA Public Library

Public art on the steps. Outdoor learning?

Uni Librarians, remember to give your patrons what they need. In LA, that's parking.

On the way out of town, aviation and local history exhibit at the Burbank Airport. Culture of learning.