Restitching the Fabric
Newark is a city grown accustomed to division, to being pulled apart by competing agendas and priorities.
Today Newark is experiencing a cultural, social and political mending, as individuals, neighborhoods and institutions come together to fabricate a new vision for their city.
It is in this spirit that we propose to repair two sides of Newark’s tattered urban fabric, unraveled by the construction of Interstate 280 and the NJ Transit rail lines.
This mixed-use, multi-family, residential project will reconnect two disjointed sections of Central Ward through the help of the NCC (New Community Corporation), and Continental Airlines. Three linking “streetscapes” flow from the plaza level at Broad Street Station, up a warping landform, and across the infrastructure to a residential tower to the north. Pedestrians choose to enter one of three ramping circulation spines constructed of shipping containers, linked end–to-end, stacked double high. Depending on the streetscape, they can access housing, retail, office or community spaces.
From all circulation spines, pedestrians can access the train station platform, a parking lot below the landform, or change direction by entering any of the tower forms that serve as vertical circulation, mechanical risers, and emergency egress. The streetscapes are enclosed in a perforated metal wrapper that acts as a semi-transparent circulation enclosure and source of light and shadow for the spaces within. Residents have the option of spacious one and two bedroom units, located along the streetscapes and in the tower to the north. |
