Hedgework is an urban landscape intervention that takes the form of a sentient hedgerow. It is a community of native plants and environmental sensors that create a biodiverse habitat that supports the butterflies, bees, birds and squirrels that inhabit it, while engaging the community members, workers, cyclists, pedestrians and others that surround it. But the essential and unique transformational relationship the Hedgerow creates is the real conversation between human and more-than-human stakeholders. Its infrastructure helps to generate a series of feedback loops that provide many opportunities for playful response and interaction. Hedgework seasonally transforms over the life-cycle of its installation, growing, generating data, building knowledge and writing a soundtrack that reflects the climate and disposition of the site.
Hedgework was commissioned by the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) and is on view from May – November, 2024 at Building 77, 141 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205.
Credits:
Hedgework is a collaboration between Marek Walczak (Civic Space LLC), Mark Shepard (Center for Architecture and Situated Technologies (CAST)) and Antonina Simeti (Timbre Consultants) with contributions from Robbie Lee (sound composition), Wes Heiss (Civic Space LLC), Cindy Burkowski (landscape design), Timothy Noble (software/hardware development), Johanna Kindvall (graphic design) and Nayarit Tineo (installation support). Thanks to the volunteers who lent their time, energy and brawn to help bring this project to life, including: Lee Baratier, Bradley Cantor, John DeLorenzo, Jeremy Gibney, Amanda McDonald Crowley, Vivian Selbo and Charu Singh.
Special thanks to Lizbeth Arum and Ben Leo at Voltaic Systems for their generous support with the solar power system and to David Sutton of New York Sand and Stone for providing materials for the installation.