It may be Chinatown, but the New York City Department of Transportation, the Chinatown Partnership, and Van Alen Institute aren’t about to forget it. A new collaboration between the three entities looks to find a new contemporary neighborhood marker at the Canal Street Triangle, a triangular traffic island flanked by Canal Street, Baxter Street, and Walker Street.
The project is seeking proposals that will create a new landmark for Chinatown and the surrounding neighborhoods that will “engender pride of place, embody cultural and social identities, and stimulate economic development.”
The design teams will need to take on the challenge of activating the relatively small space by honoring the neighborhoods past and present and packing it with interactive technologies and green space.
The winning proposal will replace a kiosk that sits on the site currently and connect two of Manhattan’s most iconic neighborhoods – Chinatown and Little Italy.
The organizers want the prospective teams to consider the following questions:
- How can the site serve as a “gateway” responding to tradition as well as adapting to ever-changing cultural and generational demographics and technology?
- How can the gateway connect and bring together existing communities and create new opportunities for both locals and visitors to experience the area in fresh ways?
- How can the gateway site link to other gateways within Chinatown, across the city and around the world?
Teams have until June 19, 2017 to submit their proposals. The winning team will be selected in fall 2017 and design and implementation will begin in 2018. For more information, click here.
Related Stories
| Jan 21, 2015
From technician to rainmaker: Making the leap in your career
Many AEC firms focus on training for the hard skills of the profession, not so much for business prowess, writes BD+C's David Barista.
Modular Building | Jan 21, 2015
Chinese company 3D prints six-story multifamily building
The building components were prefabricated piece by piece using a printer that is 7 meters tall, 10 meters wide, and 40 meters long.
| Jan 21, 2015
Tesla Motors starts construction on $5 billion battery plant in Nevada
Tesla Motors’ “gigafactory,” a $5 billion project on 980 acres in Sparks, Nev., could annually produce enough power for 500,000 electric cars.
| Jan 20, 2015
Daring hotel design scheme takes the shape of cut amethyst stone
The Dutch practice NL Architects designed a proposal for a chain of hotels shaped like a rock cut in half to reveal a gemstone inside.
| Jan 20, 2015
Avery Associates unveils plans for London's second-tallest tower
The 270-meter tower, dubbed the No. 1 Undershaft, will stand next to the city's "Cheesegrater" building.
| Jan 20, 2015
AIA course: Building with brick, stone, and masonry
Earn 1.0 AIA/CES learning units by studying this article and successfully completing the online exam.
| Jan 19, 2015
HAO unveils designs for a 3D movie museum in China
New York-based HAO has released designs for the proposed Bolong 3D Movie Museum & Mediatek in Tianjin.
| Jan 19, 2015
Gaudi’s first work outside Spain will be a chapel in Chile
Nearly 100 years after Antoni Gaudí’s death, Chile will begin constructing a chapel using his designs.
| Jan 19, 2015
Architecture for Humanity closes office, plans to file for bankruptcy
After more than 15 years of work, the nonprofit design group Architecture for Humanity has closed its San Francisco office and plans to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.
| Jan 19, 2015
Four Seasons tower will be Boston's tallest
On Jan. 14, 2015, developer Carpenter & Company and executives from the Four Seasons broke ground on the Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences, which will become the tallest building in Boston at 699 feet.