Mission

Sandbox is an interactive public art project that serves as a resource for community engagement, exhibition, performance and empowerment. The sculptural prototype for Sandbox takes physical form as colorful block-like furniture. These playful modules are designed to be flexibly organized and accommodating towards formal or spontaneous events; such as artist talks, outdoor classrooms, and gardening workshops among many more programmable activities.

Sandbox is implementable in two parts; the first being a physical prototype (an artsy proof of concept) and the second represents a comprehensive cultural network (a constellation of neighborhood improvement projects working in unison atop the Steem blockchain.)

Team Members

@voronoi @hansikhouse @hitheryon

Justification

Steemit is a social media platform that rewards digital likes and comments with real dollars and cents. This disruptive new online economy has reinvented the way in which we create, share and explore on the web. Engagement is rewarded. With Sandbox our big question is; how can we integrate this engagement economy with physical places and social spaces? What if we could connect the model of Steemit to a real-life neighborhood? What might that look like?

As practicing architects and urban planners, we have been discouraged by the lack of commitment to community represented by our profession. We’ve become dependent on wealthy clients, blurry politics, and heavy-handed developers who only look to make a profit next quarter. The traditional way of creating public environments has relied too heavily on this top-down hierarchy. As a result, meaningful design has become a luxury. Through the Steemit network, we’ve recognized an incredible opportunity to reverse this top-down mentality. We can reestablish a healthier, more resilient relationship with the places we care about and the neighborhoods that surround them. With Sandbox, we can incentivize community engagement through the infrastructure of Steemit.

Power-up Your Neighborhood:

For the Sandbox prototype we will partner with a local community garden, park or public plaza in New York City. The Sandbox furniture will be designed to accommodate our community clientele.

• Example of a Sandbox community garden. Cubed modules are incorporated as planters, wayfinding signage and seating. This design is scalable, powered by Steem and through community input gathered by Steemit and on-site neighborhood workshops.

This new neighborhood hotspot will act as a colorful and dynamic billboard for the Steemit community. We believe that this physical project would open Steemit to a new and international stage of innovative people, places and spaces. Through local partnerships we will on-board community members and activists to the Steemit platform (community boards, park representatives, volunteers, residents etc.) As outlined in the roadmap (below) Sandbox is equal parts local and global. Globally, we need your engagement and support! Upvote rewards and donations will translate directly to funding for furniture, events, restoration, programming and wayfinding signage for a neighborhood in need.

• Sandbox is a dynamic social space where you can speak, listen, play, explore, share, converse and learn.

Roadmap

Prototype Proof of Concept :

---

Phase 1: Site Partnership (May - June 2017)

• Networking and outreach in the New York City area. This phase will include working with local public art and cultural institutions to find suitable neighborhood sites to construct and install a full-scale prototype.

---

Phase 2: Funding (May - August 2017)

• Preliminary Goal of 20,000 - 35,000 Steem Dollars.
• Weekly or bi-weekly Steemit Posts will be made to highlight project updates, research and process. All rewards and proceeds from #sandbox tags will be used exclusively for design and fabrication costs. All memos will articulate funding clearly and transparently.
• A Bitcoin Wallet will be integrated with this project in order to reach a broader crypto-community.
• Steem and Steem Dollar donations will be collected. There will be multiple Tiers of Prizes based upon Steemian donation amounts. Example: for a 25 - 50 SBD donation your username will be engraved on one of the furniture modules. For 250 - 500 SBD you receive a 3D printed mini-prototype of the module you helped support… etc.
• Additionally, in-person fundraisers will be held in New York City in the form of roundtables, public talks and workshops.

---

Phase 3: Implementation and Installation (August - November 2017)

• Construction of street furniture modules and installation on-site (3 months - 1 year)
• Hosting of public talks, workshops, performances, art exhibitions and other public engagement opportunities. (These will depend on the site location and partner determined in Phase 1)

---

A Future Cultural Network:

“Phase 4” is a window into how we imagine Sandbox developing and expanding. Here, we want to share our vision for the future of a cultural network built upon the Steem blockchain. Currently, we are in the early stages of user interface mock-ups and metrics for a Sandbox digital app.

---

Phase 4: Beta Development of Sandbox Digital App (December 2017 +)

• In conjunction with Steem’s “Fabric” initiative expected by Q4 2017, a beta application will be developed for Sandbox designed to connect a broader network of physical neighborhood landmarks and public art initiatives.
• Long-term investor and strategic partnerships will be established in this final phase as the network of Sandbox will be scalable beyond a single neighborhood.

Description of Support

Sandbox will seek official financial and promotional support from the Steemit team. As outlined in the Roadmap (above) funding for the initial public art prototype will cost 20,000 to 35,000 Steem Dollars (dependent on the site-partnership and size of site available.) This preliminary budget includes fabrication, installation, permitting, insurance, repair and maintenance through a full calendar year period.

Steem-Powered Support

For this project we will apply for a Steemit grant totalling 10,000 Steem Dollars to be delivered in two installments (1) upon confirmation of a site partnership by June of 2017 and (2) upon completion of design construction drawings by August of 2017. With this kickstarting amount, we can immediately budget for fabrication, design mock-ups and ensure that some scope of a final product will be delivered by the Fall season of 2017. The Steemit grant will also aid in creating incentives for donations. (For example, 3D printed miniature prototypes will be created as a reward for our highest tier supporters.The “tiers” will be outlined upon launch of the project in May 2017.)

For the remaining 2/3 of the budget (and beyond) we will rely heavily on #sandbox post upvotes and independent crypto-donations. There will be weekly Sandbox posts that will update the Steemit community on research, progress, process and other milestone updates. Our ultimate goal is to have our prototype crowdfunded exclusively through Steem, Bitcoin and our broader cryptocurrency community.

Schedule

• Phase 1: Site Partnership (May - June 2017)
  Steemit Grant Pt. 1
• Phase 2: Funding (May - August 2017)
  Steemit Grant Pt. 2
• Phase 3: Implementation and Installation (August - November 2017)
• Phase 4: Beta Development of Sandbox App (December 2017 +)

NOTE : 100% of the rewards from this post will go towards the realization of the Sandbox project. Rewards and any project donations will be placed in the @hitheryon Steemit savings account.

Thank you

Thank you all so much for your time in reading this post and in advance for your feedback. We are thrilled to share this project with you today and hope that these goals resonate with you and your vision for the future of Steemit. Steem on!

---

Follow us @hitheryon

@voronoi / @hansikhouse