con·tain·er·min·a·tion [kən-`tā-nər-mi-nā-shən] noun
1 a : the use or spread of containers b : the building or revitalization
of a neighborhood using recycled shipping containers. |
Central Ward was a focal point for, and indeed was shaped by, social unrest during the 1960s. It has an industrial feel and remains a predominately African-American neighborhood today. Next door is University Heights, home to Rutgers, Essex County College, the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the University of Medicine and Dentistry, the largest health sciences university in the nation. This project represents an opportunity to build new connections and deepen ties between these two communities, and ultimately downtown Newark.
More than just building blocks, these containers are the seeds for a new kind of community interaction. They could be planted, permanently or temporarily, throughout the neighborhood, housing projects by universities, books and educational materials from the public library, entertainment by local theatre groups or even special exhibits on art, science and history from local museums.
At the main site, ground-level retail space and a public plaza with access to Board Street Station would bring new life to the area. Individuals, families and small businesses would occupy the levels above. Arranging variously colored containers at different angles creates endless possibilities, referencing the New Jersey port while retaining the brick-and-mortar industrial feeling of local buildings. Colorful art on the glass at the local light-rail station today reflects, in a very delicate way, a future vision for this project and its potential to transform Central Ward. |
