design partner Alex Warr | Fall 2015
UTSOA Advanced Design with critic Vincent Snyder
UTSOA Advanced Design with critic Vincent Snyder
Lower East Side, Manhattan
Ft. Worth AIA Jury Honor Award
"This project succeeds by transforming a complex program into a clear, inventive,
and formally rich architectural solution. The process graphics display a sophis-
ticated understanding of urbanism and the challenge of creating a humane
density." -Greg Ibañez, FAIA, jury member
"This project succeeds by transforming a complex program into a clear, inventive,
and formally rich architectural solution. The process graphics display a sophis-
ticated understanding of urbanism and the challenge of creating a humane
density." -Greg Ibañez, FAIA, jury member
New York is a place where the term 'mixed use' is almost unnecessary – a 'mixed use building' is integral to the city's fabric. The resulting level of architectural layering is an unavoidable blessing that defines the physical character of NYC. These two city blocks in the Lower East Side of Manhattan house a 60,000ft² Andy Warhol Museum, a 40,000ft² food market, and 300 apartments in approximately 200,000ft². All within an 80ft height limitation.
The project investigates an experiential gap existing in New York's housing typologies. The affordable solution of a Robert Moses housing tower (to the south) is a success in terms of economy, but a failure in terms of experience. This is countered by the town house (or tenement house, to the north and west) which is (now) a joy to experience, but a failure in terms of sustainable density. By blending these two housing typologies together, while layering the other programs of the site both horizontally and vertically, the Lower East Village is achieved in two blocks that reflect New York's rich history and contribute to its continuing growth.
Manhattan region map // Views to and from site
Locations of existing similar programs - Housing (purple), Museums (orange), Food Markets (green), Warhol Points of Interest (blue); neighboring city grids highlighted - Rutger (purple), Delancey (Blue), and 1811 (Orange) // Lower East Side facade study
Site Analysis: Aerial, Topography, Water Flow, Green Space, Urban Edge, Footprints, Pedestrian Density, Transit, Wind Rose, Summer Shadows, Winter Shadows, Light Pollution // C.L. Jollian's New Amsterdam, 1672 // Existing Housing Typologies: Tenement Housing, Robert Moses Towers
Schematic Model Iterations (1/64" = 1')
Site Plan // Delancey Street View
Programmatic Layers // Project Model (1/32" = 1') west courtyard, north elevation, east courtyard
Longitudinal Section
looking south
looking south
Transverse Section
looking west
looking west
Housing Towers: Elevation // Wall Section // Details
Housing Plan Details: Unit Layout // Reflected Ceiling // Framing
Museum Tower: Wall Section // Elevation // Interior Gallery
Market: Courtyard View // Wall Section
