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Van Alen Institute

@van_alen

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Architecture & design nonprofit based in Gowanus, Brooklyn. We work to make it easier for communities to shape the places where they live.

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On August 4, we’re delighted to host AIANY’s Committee on Residential Architecture for a special summer gathering.Committee co-chair @stephen.a.moser (@moserarchitect) leads an informal talk with NOT NOT about their experience launching a new design practice, and the playful ways they challenge conventional notions of how we inhabit space.After the talk, stick around for an exhibition viewing, refreshments, and some fun surprises along the way. This event is free with RSVP and open to the public. RSVP at the link in bio! 📷: @wcblaylock by @van_alen

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2 days ago

Thank you @archpaper for the story on our current exhibition by @notnotprojects!“At Van Alen, NOT NOT is part performance, part workspace, part event, and part exhibition, but also a refusal to be typecast,” writes @jerry_elegenical. “The double-negative in the name of their studio and the exhibition itself, represents a resistance to being pigeonholed.” Read more at the link in bio.NOT NOT is on view through August 15 during our regular hours: Mondays–Thursdays, 10 am–6 pm. We’re also open for extended hours this weekend — come on by: 🗓️ Friday, July 24, 1–5 pm🗓️ Sunday, July 26, 1–5 pm📷: 1-3, 5: @wcblaylock by @van_alen

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3 days ago

A few weeks back, the Carroll Street Bridge reopened after five years of repairs and we threw it a party.We hosted the block party portion at @420Carrollst alongside @ArtsGowanus, @Van_Alen, @gowanusdredgers, @Igloo_NYC, @heyclaybrooklym, @gowanuscanalconservancy, artist duo @Mookntaka and more of the wonderful people who make Gowanus one of our favorite places. There were illuminated canal creatures floating on the canal. There was a costume contest. There was canoeing. There was a genuinely unhinged amount of craft supplies. This is the kind of afternoon that reminds you why we picked this neighborhood in the first place, it still surprises you.More of Mookntaka's creatures are on view around Gowanus through August if you know where to look.📸: @argenisphoto @alishakimlevin @ducksrfriends by @van_alen

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15 days ago

Writers, this is going to be a good one! On July 15, journalist and design critic Diana Budds (@diana_b) leads a workshop exploring the theme of missing stories and voices in our understanding of NYC.We’ll start at Van Alen to read and discuss excerpts from critics who write about cities. Then we’ll head to the rapidly-changing urban landscape around the Gowanus Canal to observe, analyze, and write. Learn how to look more closely at the cityscape, frame distinct perspectives on place, and share impactful narratives.Space is limited, so be sure to RSVP early at the link in bio. All ages and experience levels are welcome.📷: @argenisphoto by @van_alen

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23 days ago

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22 days ago

On Saturday, we had such a sweet (literally! 🎂🍰) afternoon with @gowanusyearbook and many of our neighbors.As anyone who’s passed through Gowanus lately knows, this area is changing fast. @gowanusyearbook honors the people who have spent decades in our community along with those just joining. Since Feb 2025, the project has invited residents to be photographed and draw a symbol answering the prompt: “What makes Gowanus *Gowanus*?”This weekend, we invited participants to come by and leave their signature (or paw print) by their photo, meet more of their neighbors, and share a celebratory moment over pizza and cake.The yearbook will now be bound and stay at Van Alen as a living project. Stay tuned for future opportunities to contribute your photo and signature!—@gowanusyearbook is created by @_anananaya @kyuvallos @ridachh. Graphics by @cott_kelly. 📷: @wcblaylock by @van_alen

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24 days ago

We’re excited to collaborate with @broadwaymallassociation on a new outdoor installation! Our open call for interested designers and artists is now live at the link in bio; apply by Sunday, July 19.Since 1980, @broadwaymallassociation has stewarded the planted medians along Broadway from 70th to 168th Streets — nearly five miles of connected green space on Manhattan’s west side.Together, we’re seeking emerging designers and artists to create a temporary public design installation. The selected project will be on view March 2027–January 2028 at Mitchel Square in Washington Heights, the northern end of the Broadway malls.This installation will explore the theme of eco-mutualism, highlighting ecological interactions that address climate change, wellbeing, or equity. Learn more about this theme and the selection process at the link in bio. by @van_alen

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25 days ago

Thank you for joining us on June 16th and June 22nd for the first Modeling Community Visions for a Future Without the BQE (MCV) workshops of 2026 at Pave Academy Charter School @pave_redhook and the Van Alen Institute @van_alen. These workshops ask: What If? What if we didn’t have to accept the BQE as a fact of life but a choice to be questioned? What If the future BQE, with freight moved to rail and water, were to become a tree-lined street rather than a six-lane highway that divides and pollutes neighborhoods, what would communities want to do with this newly available ‘land bank'?”⁠⁠Participants responded by modifying large scale physical models of the urban fabric along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) in Red Hook/Carroll Gardens. Using a removable kit of parts including buildings, landscapes, and alternatives to the highway, residents worked together to design their future neighborhoods. Their proposals included housing typologies at various scales with retail, industry, schools, libraries, and community spaces along tree-lined streets with resilient landscapes. ⁠⁠Many thanks to MCV Team Leader, architect and urban designer Marcus Wilford (IPA Fellow, Fall 2020) @marcuswilford and to our generous collaborators at Pave Academy Charter School, Red Hook West Resident Association, and Van Alen Institute for making these workshops accessible and possible! Special thanks to NYIT School of Architecture and Design’s Fabrication Lab @nyit.architecture and amazing graduate students.⁠⁠📸 Photos by Jeannette Sordi. ⁠ by @van_alen

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a month ago

The Carroll Street Bridge is finally OPEN! I was overjoyed to celebrate with the Gowanus community on Saturday and judge an INCREDIBLE costume contest. Thank you so much to @artsgowanus for amazing creativity and event production as always, and bringing together our beautiful, passionate, bridge-loving community. And thanks to @van_alen institute and so many others who made this possible. by @van_alen

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Well, we did it! When @mookntaka first responded to our open call for a public design project in Gowanus, they envisioned their Friends from the Canal on the water at some point. We all agreed: this had to happen.We’re so grateful to the @gowanusdredgers for their willingness to help and ingenuity to make it work. To close out Saturday’s wonderful block party, the @gowanusdredgers & @mookntaka paddled the Friends along the Gowanus Canal, to everyone’s absolute delight.Huge thanks to our block party team, including @artsgowanus @theshopbk @mookntaka @cmshahanahanif @gowanusdredgers and to everyone to participated, stopped by, and contributed to the festivities.📷: @argenisphoto by @van_alen

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a month ago

A quick late night montage of a MAGICAL Gowanus day at the Creatures of the Canal bioluminescent block party celebrating the Carroll Street Bridge reopening! Our hearts are full ❤️THANK YOU to all who made this event so incredible! More posts coming highlighting the amazing participants, costume contest and more! by @van_alen

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a month ago

🦑 TOMORROW: the Friends from the Canal will be ON THE WATER!! (At 8pm!!!) 💦When we originally proposed the Friends from the Canal, we imagined our Inflatable Friends floating down the Gowanus Canal. The @van_alen team encouraged us and excitedly asked, “so we’re gonna make that happen, right?!”Fast forward to now: IT’S HAPPENING!! ⭐️This has been a huge community effort and the Creatures of the Canal: Bioluminescent Block Party wouldn’t be possible without the help of @gowanusdredgers, @celerae, @artsgowanus, @theshopbk and @shahanafrombk, @van_alen 🫶🏼 Thank you!🦐 SEE YOU TOMORROW!!! 🪼 by @van_alen

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a month ago