Assisting thousands of families and low-income individuals every year, the not-for-profit institution seeks to expand their services requiring higher-capacity learning environments as well as extra workspace for additional programs and organizations to join their cause.

Following a feasibility study of the adjacent site, this project developed a 7,000sf addition with internal connections to the existing building. To integrate the new three-story building and old structure, the addition’s façade extends above and over an existing stairwell interlocking the two volumes. The primarily brick façade is continued, in a darker, subtler color, preserving a uniform texture and grid while distinguishing the secondary structure.

Working with POTS through in-person interviews and on-site observations, a program was established that addresses the needs of the growing organization and their commitment to expanding their programming. This includes a new classroom space and offices on the first floor and a combination of open workspaces and private offices (as well as a divisible meeting room) on the second and third floors.

The solution is based on urban loft living where the industrial character and structural idiosyncrasies of the existing building are incorporated into the design of four large lofts on two floors. In addition to the living lofts, the project includes a range of public amenities that are shared with the existing residence hall including a media den, a shared kitchen for communal cooking, built-in banquet seating, study zones, a living room, and a courtyard lounge. The two floors were connected with a new concrete stair and a double-height opening with a skylight to bring natural light through the center of the building and into the lower level spaces.

The transformation of this building from a space for community (YMCA) to a space of isolation (Bayview Correctional Facility) back to one of community, collective growth, and partnership (The Women’s Building) is a powerful story about a change in ethics and a vision for equity, support and justice. The history of the building informs our design both inside and out.

There are three unique centers for change in our design—a Center for Community, Center for Wellness, and Center for Activism. Each forms a nexus of activities around their particular focus, and together they shape a vertical neighborhood where partnerships can be forged, collaborations explored, and resources shared. Each center establishes an entirely new paradigm for growth and support while linking the interior spaces to this unique site in the city. The façade of the addition is terracotta, formed through advanced digital technologies that embrace the future, while connecting, through its material, to the history of the existing building and its rich architectural detailing. The Women’s Building completely transforms a structure with a history of incarceration and isolation into one of connections and shared goals.

Our research proposes a new approach to the planning of our branch libraries as one networked system, rather than as independent branches, in order to most optimally plan for the future of our libraries. We propose that when we make decisions based on an understanding of the existing 207 branch libraries as interrelated parts of one system, and when we recognize that the system is not “flat” – that needs and services are unevenly distributed in the city – we can more equitably allocate resources in relationship to demand. And once we conceive of the libraries as a networked system of social infrastructure related to other public services, the libraries can help address both citywide systemic issues and respond to the local needs of their neighborhoods. This type of planning strategy would allow us to make policy responses that are not on a per-branch basis, but rather, we can bring multi-branch responses to pressing citywide concerns.

In order to intelligently plan within this networked infrastructure, we have developed new tools that can utilize comparative and relational data, changing data, so that any one branch in the network is planned with an awareness of other branches. We can take actions to strengthen the libraries’ position as a community hub, as a significant anchor of the neighborhood it serves. And as part of the social infrastructure of the city, supporting social growth and social equity, we are also proposing enhancing community engagement around the reinvestment in our libraries and actionable policy mechanisms, specifically in relationship to co-development opportunities, to further increase the value of our libraries for the public good.

Utilizing data for Brighton Beach we have designed a building that expands the library while also addressing pressing citywide needs of affordable housing and resiliency planning. In the Brighton Beach project, the library is the focus of the co-development project. It is located primarily on the second floor, serving as a significant piece of New York’s resilience planning and designed to support the community during events such as Sandy. The library connects to the street with an entry and event space, a 24-hour-accessed community room, a book drop, and a programming kiosk. New commercial uses wrap the corner at the street and encompass most of the first floor and third floors. There are opportunities for unique synergies to emerge between the retail spaces and the library on the first floor. The building takes advantage of the prominent site with views to the ocean on the upper floors of the housing. A green roof for tenants and outdoor reading garden for the library are some of the shared amenities.

This covered soccer field and expanded facilities for FC Harlem is designed to take advantage of a unique site sandwiched between existing large scale infrastructure in New York City. Using soccer to “connect with young people on and off the field,” FC Harlem is a community-based outreach program whose mission is to empower under-served youth, providing them with the “skills and support they need to be fearless in life.” The covered field is designed as one continuous surface on a modular space frame scaled to protect the field below from inclement weather while also creating unique new connections to the community. The project will transform the existing site using sustainable building strategies including photovoltaic cells integrated into the roof, rainwater collection, recycled materials, and significant site remediation.