Introducing the Lowline Lab

Co-Founder James Ramsey, his team at Raad Studio,and Korea-based technology company Sunportal designed and installed optical devices which track the sun throughout the sky every minute of every day, optimizing the amount of natural sunlight we are able to capture. The sunlight is then distributed into the warehouse through a series of protective tubes, directing full spectrum light into a central distribution point. A solar canopy, designed and constructed by engineer Ed Jacobs, then spreads out the sunlight across the space, modulating and tempering the sunlight, providing light critical to sustain the plant life below.

The Lowline Lab landscape, designed by Signe Nielsen of Mathews Nielsen and built by John Mini Distinctive Landscapes, is composed of over 3,000 plants and dozens of unique varieties, spread across 1,000 square feet. The Lab gives us the opportunity to study plant life in the same type of environment as the future Lowline, and will help determine which types of plants will grow best underground.

We’re excited about all the science and technology that has gone into creating the Lowline Lab, and we want to get our community engaged in the process of building the Lab. The Lab will be a live open experiment, free for all members of the public to visit every weekend. During the weekdays, we are expanding our Young Designers Program to include educational sessions at the Lowline Lab, bringing thousands of kids into the space to learn all about the science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) behind the Lowline. We also want the Lab to serve as an intergenerational community hub, inspiring people of all ages and backgrounds to study and understand the transformative power of innovation.