TheSeagramBuildingwascompletedin1958byarchitectsMiesvanderRoheand PhilipJohnson.Itislocatedat375ParkAveinNewYork,USA.Thisofficeskyscraperisthe headquartersoftheSeagramCorporation;itoriginallybelongedtoSamuelBronfman,Seagram DistillersCEO,duringtheProhibition.Whilethebuildingwasanarchitecturalphenomenon,it didnotcatertowardsthepeopleoutsideofthebuilding.Theplazawherethemainentranceis locatedisfilledwithcementsquares,cementstaircases,twowaterfountains,andafewplants.I focusedonhowtotransformtheplazatocreateaspacethatinvitesthepublicandfocuseson whattheyneedwhiletheygothroughtheirbusydayinManhattan.
turntheSeagramPlazaintoa properpublicspace?”FirstI hadtoaddressthelackof seatingspacesandshade.Ifyou takealookataparkthereare benchesavailabletositon,shadefromtreeshelptoblockthesunandkeepyoucool.Onceyou reachalevelofcomfortability,itencouragesyoutostayandenjoyyoursurroundingsforhours, itwillfeelrelaxingandtimewillflyfast.AttheSeagramBuildingandmostpartsofManhattan, theenvironmentencouragespeopletonotstayoutsideandinsteadgoinsidewithoutorwithvery littlesocialinteractions.Forexample,thisisdifficultforfamiliestotravelwithouthaving sufficientrestspotsandthisappliestoolderadultsaswellwhocannotwalkfortoolongand
Iaskedmyself“whatis themostcosteffectivewayto
wouldneedsomewheretosit.TouristswhowanttoexperiencethelandscapeofManhattanwith itshistoricbuildingsand uniquearchitecture,it wouldbeahassleto constantlystayontheir feetfortheentireday.
Bydivertingthefoot traffictosittingspaces wealsoclearupthe trafficonthesidewalk
andpeopledonothavetoworryaboutbumpingintoeachotherorputtingintheextraeffortto walkaroundsomeonewhoisinthemiddleofthestreet.Treesnotonlyprovideshadebutthey alsoaddanaesthetictothespacethatwilldrawtheeyesofpeopleandcreateanillusionthatyou areinnaturebutyouglanceupandalsorecognizetheskyscrapers.
Withanemptyspacethatthepubliccaninteractwith,thisprovidesagoodstagefor artistsandorganizationstopromotetheirartandawarenessforavarietyoftopics.Artistsare abletogainexposureandcaninfluenceotheraspiringartiststounderstandwhytheythoughta certainway,thiscancreateanewcultureandleaveamarkonhistoryasitdidmanycenturies ago.ForexampleweseecompanieslikeKawsimplementsculpturesoftheirbrandmascot howevertheyonlystayforalimitedtime.Itwouldbeadvantageoustohaveotherpiecesofart showcasedsoitwouldnotbeasbarrenanditcanrepresentdifferentkindsofbackgrounds.The mainemphasisisagaintodrawtheattentionofthepeople,wemustrealizethatspaceinfluences howweaspeoplebehave.WilliamH.WhyteproducedafilmfortheProjectforPublicSpaces, heobservedtheSeagramPlazaupcloseandevenfromaboveinanearbyroof.Hewasableto determinethatpeoplereliedonthestaircasesasaplacetosit,thesuninfluencedwherethey wouldbesittingorstanding.
Throughoutthedayhewould recordwherepeoplewouldbe foundstandinganditwas mostlyontheedgeofthe plaza.Thisiswherewesee allkindsofindividualsand
wecanobservethemparticipatinginvariousactivities.Thesepeopledonotstayforlongbut theyareacrucialpartinhowweshouldplantheplazatobecomeaplacewherepeople instinctivelywanttostay.
TherearemultiplesolutionsthatIhavecomeupwiththatwillbeabletotransformthe spacetobecomeunrecognizableandmoreinclusive.Asmentionedbeforeitwouldbehelpfulto
includemoregreenerylikemoretrees,moreseatingspaces,moredisplayofartandsculptures, andmoreaccessiblespacewhichinvolvesremoving thestairsforaramp.Onesolutionthatstoodoutto mewaswhatwashappeninginSchouwburgplein, RotterdamwhichisintheNetherlands.Thispublic spaceisabletomorphintodifferentfieldswhether itinvolvesgrassturfornot,itallowsmanydifferent activitiestobehostedhere.Forexample,partofthe floorisawaterfountainwherewatershootsup fromthegroundlikeasprinkler,otherdayspeople canhostspecialeventsorspeeches,withthegrass turfpeopleareabletodoyogaintheopenand
childrenhaveanothermakeshiftplayground.Toaddon,thenightlifeisveryactiveandpeople areseeneitherwalkingorengagingwiththespacewithease.Byapplyingthisconceptto SeagramPlazawecreateanothermutablespacethatcanturnintoendlesspossibilities.InNew YorkCitywheretherearemillionsofpeoplewithalldifferentinterests,thiswouldbeagood waytoengagewithasmanypeopleaswecanwiththehelpofchangingthingsupifneeded.
KeystakeholderswouldincludetheSeagramCorporation,NYCDepartmentofPublic HealthandSanitation,localcouncilsandcommunityboards,andthelocalgovernment.These groupswillbemostaffectedbythischangebecausenowitwillhavemorefoottrafficandthus willneedmoremaintenance.TheSeagramCorporationwillhavetooverseetheconstructionand makesurethebuildingitselforthesurroundingbuildingswillnotbedamagedorimpacted negatively.Localcouncilsandcommunityboardswillbetheonesorganizingtheeventsorthe typesofactivitiesthatwillbeimplementedinthisspaceaswellasfindthefundingneededfor thenecessarytoolsandresourcestocarryouteachplan.Thelocalgovernment,knowingthatthis buildingisbothapartofhistoryandapartofthecity’seconomy,willregulatewhetherornot thisplanwillbeabletolastformanyyearsorremaintemporary,whichevertheyseem reasonable.
Hereisthelistofalternativesolutions:
Encouragingartiststodisplaytheirworkandbecomerecognizableisbothbeneficialfor thesenseofcommunityandittransformsthisbarrenspacetoonewithmanycolorsand shapes.TherearemanydifferentartstylesandmanyartistsinNYC,thereshouldalways besomethingondisplayforthepublictoindulgein.
SittingandbeingabletorestisneededinabusycitylikeNYC.Whatbetterwayfor peopletoadmireapublicspacethantositandchatwithfreshair.Softerflooringlike grassorcorklaminate.
1. Implementmorepermanentdisplaysofartandsculpturesfromallcultures. 2. Allowformoreplacestositorimplementsofterflooringaswellasshade.3. Allowformutableflooring,forexamplespecificblocksofcementcanbecomeadifferent materialforacertainamountoftime.Onemonththerecanbeapatchforelectronicartor imaging,thenexttimeitcouldbeaninteractivedisplaythattracksyourfootprintsasyou walkthroughouttheplaza,therecanevenbealightdisplaylikeadiscodancefloor
4. Implementmoregreenspaceandvegetation,possiblyanurbangardenorgreenhouse. Bygrowingcertainplants,itcancreateaneco-friendlyplazathatcouldalsoproduce foodforlocalresidentsoreventhehomelesspopulation.Currentlythereareafewtrees andtwofountainsthatareondisplay.Itwouldbenicetoreconnectthecitytonatureand restorethebalance.
5. Createamoreaccessiblespacewherepeopledonothavetotakeastepuptoengagewith theplaza.Althoughthestepsareveryshort,itiseasierifeverythingisatthesamelevel. Thefountainsblockthecornerswherepeopleareoftenpassingthrough.Thiscanbe bettermanagedifthesecornerswerenotrestrictedinsizeduetotheelevatedcorners wherethefountainsareplaced.
6. NoAction CriteriaforBestSolution:
ThesefactorsofCost,Maintenance,SocialEquity,Accessibility,Comprehensiveness, andSpeedofImplementationareimportantcriteriabecauseitrequirestime,money,andlabor foraprojecttobecompleted.Propermaintenancewillattractthepubliceye,encouragethoseto participateandevenpeoplewhowerenotintentionallygoingtothisplazafeelasiftheywere searchingforitallalong.Socialequityandaccessibilitytietotheinclusivityforeveryone regardlessofincomeandbackground.Whetherornottheyareabletotakealookatthisspace
andbeabletoseethemselvesenjoyingit.Whethertheyhavesecondthoughtsoriftheirschedule allowsforthemtojustsitesee.ThesefactorsofPoliticalComplexity,Safety,andSecurityarenot neededbecausethisspaceismeantforeveryonesothereisnoneedforpoliticalcomplexity The communityisbenefittingasawholenotforanyspecificpowerorinvestment.Safetyis guaranteedbecauseitisanopenspaceonprivatepropertysurroundedbyotherimportant buildings.Thesolutionswouldonlybenefitthepublicandwouldneverintentionallyhurtthe public.Securitywouldbepartofthebuildingitselfandsomesolutionsdonotneedtoworry aboutsecurity.
BestChoiceofAction:
ThemostcosteffectivewaytoturntheSeagramPlazaintoaproperspacewouldbeto implementremovablegrassturfspaceonthecementflooralongwithtreesforshadeandseating thataredesignedtolooklikealimefromoverhead.SimilartowhatwesawinRotterdam,this canalsobeappliedtotheSeagramPlazaanditwouldnotcostmillionsofdollarstoachieve. Simplycreatingsofterflooringsavesbothseatingspaceandopensupmoreactivitiesthatcanbe plannedhere.Theartisticseatingdrawstheeyesofvisitorsandleavesmemoriesintheirheadto showothersandgainmoreattentionfortheoncebarrenplaza.
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