LIFE, AFTER LIFE
IMMIGRANT RETREAT | NEW YORK CITY, NY
Yale School Of Architecture | Spring 2019 | 6 Weeks
Instructor: Sunil Bald
Individual Work
Early Section Sketch
Architecture in New York City always has potentials and is usually unfamiliar to certain walks of life. This prompt identifies a current issue of dwelling and explores possible architectural outcomes integrating concepts of change, evolution, and time into foundational thinking. The project clearly defines parameters that are investigated over an expanded period of time, in which both current and future circumstances must be considered. These projects are to be specific, rigorously investigated responses to contemporary issues which offer—through design—extraordinary speculations, proposals, and outcomes.
This studio explores the relationship between life, and after life, through the design of residential housing design. Focusing on the demographic of immigrants in the neighborhood, this project intends to offer a retreat in the city for immigrants as well as s a new urban dwelling model that creates opportunities for people and the community.
The site Delancey St and Allen St Median locates in downtown Manhatten, New York. It has been involved with constant changes. Historically, it used to be a regular NYC block with trains passing by; now the block is split off in half to make way for other transportation means. The change in demographics is evident in this neighborhood. 46 percent of the population in this neighborhood is immigrants, such as Chinese and Italian. The diversity of demographics result in the different cultural and social influences of the neighborhood and various cultural and institutional programs around the area.
One imperative aspect of the proposal is to drive the people to the collective space and also provide a private space to dwell. Specifically, a prevailing concept of flexible market space is introduced to the design. Similar to other spaces in New York City, the ground floor design drives pedestrians to the space and fosters street interactions. The use of the ground-floor flex spaces is divided into three prototypes, targeting different scales of pedestrians and groups. As such, the ground level becomes adaptable to different uses.
The design utilizes the diversity of the city to create a sense of stillness within the realm of changes and explore the relationship between static and active. The proposal attracts the people to collective spaces and provides a private space to dwell. While the current lower Manhattan neighborhood is maintained in a linear grided system, this project develops a new axis along geographical North - South to break the current perpendicular space and promote a fluid network within.
