4 minute read
NYC Tech Hub
01 NYC tech hub
parter - jeremiah costen fall 2021 - design 7 | Professor nancy clark Site Location: 6th - 7th avenue & 32nd - 33rd street, manhattan
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currently, midtown manhattan, specifically penn station and the surrounding area is ineffcient and underwhelming. with over half a million people travelling through the area because of penn station, this region has the potential to be a vibrant, productive district that could revitalize the surrounding area.
Examining the zoning of the area revealed that penn station and the surrounding area is dominated by commercial development, with some residential zoning south of 29th street.
As the area is heavily trafficked by all means of transportation, this proposal perserves that commerical identity, using urban tech as a means to revitalize the commerical aspect of the district and improve city life and sustainabilty through the creation of a large-scale hub that would act ideally act as a catalyst to spark the transformation of the district.
the essence of this proposal is to redevelop the sites by utilizing the heavy foot traffic that goes to and from penn station to expose the public to urban tech, providing public opportunities to engage in urban tech and foster innovation, while also providing private space for education and housing, company prototyping and manufcaturing, as well as commerical office space.
urban fabric and subway connectivity mapping urban fabric and subway connectivity mapping
a traditional analysis of architecture in relation to the surrounding concept is the balance between the a traditional analysis of architecture in relation to the surrounding concept is the balance between the natural and built environment. In a sense, new yorks dominant built environment becomes the natural envinatural and built environment. In a sense, new yorks dominant built environment becomes the natural environment to analyze. ronment to analyze. This mapping details the characteristics of manhattan’s urban fabric, primarily looking at a generalizing This mapping details the characteristics of manhattan’s urban fabric, primarily looking at a generalizing of the heights of buildings in relationship to the city districts along with their relationship to the subway of the heights of buildings in relationship to the city districts along with their relationship to the subway lines. lines.
rooftop park residential tower commercial/office tower
product manufacturing
maker space flex core education core private fabrication labs
east-west section through the through-block, education core, and residential tower looking north
Penn station carries over 500 thousands passengers on a daily basis. Because of that, the surrounding area has very heavy foot traffic. Therefore, a primary design driver for this proposal was to alleviate the pressure of that foot traffic, allowing it to flow through the block efficiently while exposing people to urban tech to spark interest in the program.
Curvilinear form
The design emphasis on the flow of people through the site determined the form and the logic to which it was developed off of. acting as a dominant, orginizational system throughout the project, the curves channel the direction of the space, opening up along 6th and broadway to recieve people in to the site.
Creating a dominantly curvilinear form allowed for a unique conversation to occur between the interior space and the exterior curves. the programmatic experience one has in the space is determined based on the conditions of the curves. spaces that require enclosure or partial enclosure as opposed to glass are wrapped and shaped by the curve, with floor plates that are separated from the curves by 5-10 feet, creating voids and light wells that establish a continuity and interconnectivity between the floors.
The interface between the block and the street particularily in relation to broadway was determined to be most important because the majority of people moving to penn station will be coming off of broadway. The result was the creation of a large social stair directly off of 6th avenue, broadway, and greenly park that is publicly accessible to pull people off of the street and in to the site. To accompany the social stair, the south-east street-block edge was lifted and connected to the central through block, allowing for the heavy foot-traffic to flow smoothly throughout the site.
inter-circulatory site diagram
