Our idea started as simple a simple place to have lunch, charge your phone and, enjoy the day. We wanted to combine the ability to communicate throughout the world while also connecting to nature as well as reestablishing the "Boston Vibe" of human to human interactions. We felt that the Financial District in specific lacked a "Boston Vibe" . We soon decided to look closer into this connection between technology, social interaction, and nature and found that the similarities between the two were uncanny. We soon explored the idea of an interconnected network. We decided that we could best represent an interconnected network with simple shapes laid out flat and than folded up into structures. We came up with several prototypes that we like to call modular pods. These modular pods could contain anywhere from 1-8 people and their sheltered but still open structures would provide users the ability to socialize but also work in private but still in nature. They would support free wifi as well as electrical outlets for various devices. An open atmosphere inside would give people a place to talk as well as pick up food from the food trucks that are parked in the Financial District nearly everyday. 

For our second iteration we laser cut about 45 small pentagons and taped them together in symmetrical patterns. We than folded them into structures and what we hoped would be our modular pods however we soon figured out that these structures were not the most visually appealing. Although we did not end up using this method we decided that it was still a success because it formulated a way for us to continue in further iterations. 

On our third iteration we decided that we needed to embrace our theme more. We realized that the river map as well as the twitter map were in no way symmetrical and we decided that to create a truly interesting modular pods we would have to randomize the base. We had a lot of success with this iteration and created four different pods that incorporated different sizes as well as visually appealing and interesting esthetics. 

Our site is one of the mostly unused grassy parks in the middle of the financial district (Rowes Wharf). We decided that their would be no better place to integrate a tech/social space into the community. Business men and women would be able to take advantage of our free WiFi while also enjoying the more natural setting of fresh air and trees. Business would increase for food trucks who like to park along this street. We also singled this site out because it fit our theme well. It had an existing interconnected network in its various paths that extended past just that one park to parks similar. We decided to take advantage of this and add more paths on to it. We than built a third interconnected network; the way the modular pods fit together. We decided that it would be important to fit them together in a way that would encourage human to human interaction.We incorporated one idea three times throughout various parts of our project.

Our urban park project called Modular Park is a visual representation of a social network that doubles as a work and social area deep in the heart of Boston's Financial District. Our idea was to incorporate human to human interactions as demonstrated through the proliferation of social networks and river networks into the design and esthetics of our park structures.

Our project solves two problems, the first being the amount of unused space in the area, the second being the public's disconnection from nature and real human connections. Most of the people in the Financial District spend their whole day sitting in front of a computer, and we wanted to give this part of the city a more "Boston vibe" with real human to human interactions in an area where a user can still be a productive worker. 

Boston prides itself on being family-oriented with human connections; however, the Financial District seems as if it could be any city's financial district. This project is important because it could provide an aspect to the city which it currently lacks: human interconnections, in an area that currently is completely unused.