By Kevin Korber of Village Confidential
The BMW Guggenheim Lab is no more. According to reports, the open-air museum/think tank was disassembled yesterday, as its ten-week run in the East Village has drawn to a close. The next stop for the BMW Guggenheim Lab is planned to be Berlin, followed by Mumbai. The lab, which was described by its creators as “a mobile laboratory inspiring innovative ideas for urban life,” received a mixed reaction from East Village residents.
With the departure of the BMW Guggenheim Lab, the next question raised for East Village residents is: what should be done with the lot on which the lab was built. Before the lab was built, its location on 1st Street was notorious for being a dirty lot infested with rats. The neighborhood organization First Street Green, which started the cleanup initiative on the lot, has agreed to meet with several private and public organizations, including the New York City Parks Department, in order to find a solution to the problem. The BMW Guggenheim Lab’s support structures are still intact on the site, as well; they were donated by the founders of the project so that residents would not have to start from scratch when filling in the lot.
On the last day of the project, the lab held an open discussion for East Village residents as to what to do with the newly empty space. The main point of agreement throughout the discussion was that whatever was placed there next should have a use for all East Village residents. That’s a better idea than giving the lot back to the rats.
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