Pedestrian Protection Designs
Client:
Client:
Year:
2023 Oct
Pedestrian protection infrastructure is an integral part of New York City's urban fabric. Across boroughs and zoning areas, the presence of sidewalk sheds and other protective measures rhythms New Yorkers' daily lives, movements, and urban experience.
Our proposal argues that the widespread presence and constant experience of such infrastructures define them as a distinct typology of public spaces. Starting from the choice of materials, our designs emphasize the recycling of existing steel structures, as well as the exploration of new materials such as polycarbonate sheeting and ETFE panels that maximize light and open up the space visually to their contexts.
We are also dealing with questions of human and non-human occupancies, designing public spaces that shelter urban life as an ecosystem. The spatial experiences developed set gradients that go from reinterpretations of existing typologies to the conception of new ones, with the general scope of establishing welcoming, functional, and dynamic public spaces as a byproduct of protection strategies.
