dD+P designed a wayfinding marker located at Canal Street Triangle for the Gateways to Chinatown initiative, which aims to create a functional landmark at the core of Manhattan’s Chinatown and the southern entrance to Little Italy’s historic Mulberry and Mott Streets.
Recent urban design studies have identified seven locations, each distinct, that serve as portals to Chinatown’s community. The Canal Street Triangle is one such portal. The dD+P scheme generates an iconic marker called G8WAYS to Chinatown, featuring an inner and outer touchscreen ring for information and cultural exchange, along with seating and additional bench areas. Rings of the monument form the number 8, signifying this number’s importance to Chinese culture. The outer ring is a wall for individuals to get wayfinding and to view posts of community activities. The inner ring is a collective social space. The curving walls surround participants and present changing images of locations in China – “Teleportation” – and alternatingly present images of Chinatown’s past and present – “Time Travel.”
By linking the G8WAY to the other six gateways through wayfinding, community announcements, “Teleportation,” and visual “Time Travel,” we expect to establish a holistic experience; an iconic marker that connects residents throughout the Chinatown community and reveals to visitors a remarkable cultural part of New York City. The project will provide a new marker for Chinatown, Little Italy, and the surrounding Lower Manhattan neighborhoods, inciting local pride, stimulating economic development, and fostering connectivity and cultural identity.
