Tidal Shift is a site-specific installation at The Shed, a non-profit institution for art and culture in New York City, designed to activate their public plaza for summertime programming. Tidal Shift responds to the angular geometry of the Shed’s facade and offers sculptural platforms for sitting, lounging, performing, and gathering. In contrast to the monumental towers and vast public spaces of Hudson Yards, the project supports the scale of human bodies through inclined planes and stepped surfaces that invite play, rest, and social connection. Tidal Shift’s family of sculptural shapes supports both everyday relaxing and a range of summertime programming from the Shed, enabling multiple configurations for performances, dance parties, and events.
 
The blue-green colors and undulating forms of the project are celebrations of movement and action on the plaza, as well as expressions of solidarity with the “Green Wave” of feminist activism that has gained global momentum with recent hard-fought victories for women’s healthcare rights in Latin America. Through its forms, colors, and responses to context, the project calls for a tidal shift in the liberation and care for diverse embodied experiences.

This project continues the work of WIP Collaborative, a shared feminist practice of independent design professionals focused on research and design projects that engage communities and the public realm. The design team includes the Co-Founders of  WIP Collaborative — Ryan Brooke Thomas, Bryony Roberts, Elsa Ponce, Lindsay Harkema, Abby Coover, Sera Ghadaki, and Sonya Gimon.