Nighttime street scene outside a building with neon art installation consisting of tall green light poles, people walking and standing near the installation, a streetlamp, and various storefronts.

Allen Court Arts Corridor

USE: Community Placemaking

LOCATION: Worcester, MA

COMPLETION DATE: Ongoing

AREA: 3000sf

Utilizing a city surplus of decommissioned street lights, this project reimagined traditional lighting components as series of wild plant-like creatures. Lights emerge from the pavement, stretch across the alley, and lean out to the street. The fixtures are a counterpoint to the formality of the existing historicist lighting and a reminder that urban infrastructure can cue wild and joyous activities in the city.

The Allen Court Arts Corridor extends the internal arts programming of the Jean McDonough Arts Center and Brick Box Theater out into the public realm. Uses anticipated for the reimagined alley include outdoor exhibitions, drag shows, raves, cyphers, mid-day lunches, communal dinners, musical events, theatrical performances, and evening formals. It is intended for planned use and impromptu gatherings alike.

Trade shop mentors and students from Worcester Technical High School have been engaged for fabrication, wiring, and assembly.

Nighttime city street scene with a group of people standing near a building entrance marked with neon lights and green street lamps, couple of banners hanging on the building, and trees on the sidewalk.
An outdoor area with many used LED streetlight fixtures, some with wires exposed, laid out on the ground against a stone wall.
A pile of disorganized metal poles and pipes lying on the ground outdoors, with some among bushes and weeds, and shipping containers and parked cars in the background.
The image shows a collection of electrical components, including a smoke detector with wires and circuit boards, a broken street lamp or outdoor light fixture with a large glass cover, and some construction or workshop tools like a sawhorse, an orang
Urban alley wall with graffiti, old vent, and part of a parked silver vehicle in the foreground. The wall has a painted black figure and a corrupted sign with the letters 'RAE·BK'.
Colorful neon geometric shapes and lines hanging on an alleyway at night.
Architectural blueprint sketch showing technical details and measurements for the construction of new building floors. Includes text labels for various floor levels, pole measurements, and reference lines.
Illustration of a city street scene with pedestrians, street lamps, a building with multiple windows, and storefronts.
Line drawing of a city street scene with four pedestrians, a building with large windows, and abstract vertical and horizontal elements.
Architectural blueprint drawing of a modern building with intricate structural details.

Community

Architecture

Interiors

Ecology