Project overview

We reimagined Cira Green as a more inclusive park for all types of people and wildlife. Instead of fixed furniture, we designed a small, flexible kit of modular objects, like ramps, benches, planters, perches that snap and stack to solve access, shelter, and habitat needs for people and urban wildlife alike.

Objectives

• Find an urban space in Philadelphia, and find a way to resolve a problem in this space.
• Create a modular kit-of-parts that solves overlapping needs (access, rest, shelter, feeding) for humans and non-humans.
• Make the system easy to reconfigure, maintain, and scale for short-term pilots or longer installations.
• Test designs in real scenarios with quick prototypes and community feedback to ensure practical, inclusive use.

Step-by-step process

• Walked the site and mapped movement, micro-habitats, and conflict points.
• Framed the core problems: exclusionary seating, blocked paths, limited habitat features.
• Rapid ideation focused on repeatable geometry and simple connector logic.
• Ran co-design checks and quick feedback sessions to validate assumptions.
• Built low-fidelity models (cardboard/foam) to test scale and ergonomics.
• Role-played real use cases, like wheelchair routing, stroller flow, bird perching, kid play and refined details.
• Iterated connector designs, dimensions, and surface treatments.
• Produced 3D higher-fidelity mockups, exploded diagrams, and a short assembly/fabrication guide.

Outcome

A concise, deployable 6 piece modular system was exhibited at Pratt Institute and the University of Pennsylvania. I assisted in the research and prototyping, and the project reframed how a park can be shared across species without sacrificing usability.

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