VERTICAL AVENUE
Location: New York, NY
Course: ARCH 7020 | Spring 2017
Instructors: Seth McDowell
The project tackles the issue of creating shared territories in a post-ownership city such as New York. Located near the highly commercialized project site of Hudson Yards, the project aims to create a flexible and a fluid space for the new generation of makers to live, work and produce in. The vertical public space that penetrates through the building acts as a catalyst for sparking interaction between living, working and production spaces while creating an experiential path inside the building.
The project operates with a strategy which acknowledges and emphasizes the High Line and its spatial qualities as a catalyst for creating shared territories. Therefore, the High Line’s ability to create pockets of various activity spaces and an experiential path was analyzed. In relation, the various relationships with the buildings it passes along were studied. The types of connections with High Line has been classified as, Stepping Back, Bordering, Framing and Carving Through. In the block organization, High Line level is as important and celebrated as the ground level in terms of creating a shared territory within the block. Therefore, the block also utilize the studied relation strategies that create various dialogues with the High Line.
The parcel, creates a new category of dialogue while physically letting the High Line inside the building.
As a strategy, the design creates a public vertical avenue within the building to establish shared spaces, and spark interaction between different production, living and working spaces. This avenue, while creating an experiential path inside the building, also provides natural light and air into the building. The building is organized by creating a set of infrastructures that can be used flexibly and temporarily used among similar kinds of production and innovation industries. While the scenario shows the use of the building by YouTubers, next year it could be leased and used by another community.
