the ARC

CHELSEA DISTRICT, NYC

With | AIDAN ANDREWS

Studio Instructor | BOSUK HUR

SPRING 2022

New York City is heralded as the center of the modern universe, but to whom does that statement really apply? In a city built on immigration, industry, and culture, this daunting task begins with the roots of the problem, the fight between public and private space in a city where every square foot comes with a price tag.

In the Chelsea neighborhood, this fight is happening in real time. Land values and housing costs have skyrocketed 45% since the construction of the Highline park in 2009, far more than other neighborhoods in New York. This centralization of value around the park has created a boundary between classes that is pushing outwards, and in its path filtering out those deemed too poor to exist there. Both luxury and public life revolves around the High Line today, creating a highly policed area where the wealthy look upon and flaunt to those who amble past their shining towers.

To decentralize public space is to blur the boundaries between class. When the binary between those who gawk and those who flaunt is broken, public and private space can be intertwined and everyone can benefit from the city they reside in. Providing more accessible and usable public space in the culture and art-centric neighborhood that is Chelsea could be the seed of a solution.

This solution includes creating better connections to spaces residents value such as playgrounds, community gardens, walking space, and places for spontaneous activity and art and would create a more equitable community that no longer focuses on the wealthy’s desires to distance themselves from the public. Gardening, playing, skateboarding, climbing, are all things that require understanding that our environments, natural or human, are rhythmic yet chaotic in nature. How long will we let a price tag be placed upon the essence of community?

THE ARC aims to provide artists of all ages and all family situations with an active place to live, where the public has access to interacrtive exhbition spaces, community art studios, and dynamic activity areas above the popular High Line linear park. An inviting slope encompasses the base of the complex drawing street level pedestrians upwards, with a half-circle ramp continuing the jorney to the bowl shaped rooftop amphitheater. The exterior skin shields residences from direct sun rays and provides pockets of privacy, while the highly transparent studio wing is wedged above, drawing interest to the interactive art installations within.

Ground Floor Plan

A skatepark below the High Line pierces into the public lobby, where visitors can view into the sunken exhibit space below. A private entrance runs parallel, with service spaces, mailroom, and bicycle storage.