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Heart of Harlem
This project reimagines NYCHA public housing in Harlem by prioritizing integration, accessibility, and civic engagement over the typical isolated structures employed today. It focuses on how both residents and non-residents interact with the space by introducing small plazas, playgrounds, and a central square anchored by new commercial and residential programming. Eroded, stepped massing enhances the site’s porosity, natural light, and views, while balconies and terraces promote street-level interaction. The design incorporates new apartment towers with a mix of affordable and market-rate housing, alongside civic amenities like a theater, library, school, grocery store, and a market to support local businesses. The goal is to transform the typical NYCHA typology into a vibrant, connected heart of Harlem.
August-December 2024
Professor Frederick Biehle
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The project began with an analysis of two New York City projects: one pre-NYCHA and one NYCHA project. The building and spatial organizations were identified, as well as the relationship each has with their surrounding site and the context each has within the immediate city.
Subsequently came a series of iterations for creating a new schematic for mass and programming that integrated the pre-existing NYCHA complex. Multiple approaches were taken that tested different ways of forming new space and ceating new means of interaction and movement.
Combining methods from multiple different iterations, a schematic plan was established and program began to occupy the newly created space. At the project’s heart lies the idea of civic engagement, and though the project has an obviously large impact on residents, it was approached from the eye of the non-resident. It was all about how the rest of the city views and interacts with such a large, rare chunk of space in such a dense city. In doing so, it was imperative to introduce small plazas, more playgrounds, and a prominent main square, flipping the site back to the public to support more day-to-day interactions.
This new, almost parasitic growth from the existing NYCHA towers allows for the creation of residential, commercial, and amenity spaces, as well as smaller squares and private courtyards for accessibility and privacy. In addition to the newly added programs, there was a priority towards maximizing housing and playing with the verticality of the site, so new apartment towers were stationed around the site, with smaller ones zoned for affordable properties, and the larger ones being market rate.
The central square is anchored by the tallest tower on the site, acting as a beacon of activity, signaling the presence of this gathering space for both neighbors and visitors, as well as the thoroughfare to the market plaza, linking these two vital spaces to allow for the occupancy of one to overflow to another when needed, all centered around the new beacon of harlem.
The central square is anchored by the tallest tower on the site, acting as a beacon of activity, signaling the presence of this gathering space for both neighbors and visitors, as well as the thoroughfare to the market plaza, linking these two vital spaces to allow for the occupancy of one to overflow to another when needed, all centered around the new beacon of harlem.