PRIMARY INSTRUCTOR MONA EL KHAFIF
STUDIO PROFESSORS ALI FARD, MATTHEW JULL, and ESTHER LORENZ

GRADUATE PROGRAM | YEAR TWO

WORKS COMPLETED ALONGSIDE RAFI ALAM

[ VIDEO PRESENTATION ]

This intervention of an affordable housing program relies on a connection to the surrounding manufacturing district, through understanding its history, culture, and sense of community. Initial site analysis identifies historic sites, community-oriented programs, shops, and open spaces. These spaces are connected through a series of pedestrian pathways, which are rendered with the pedestrians perspective in mind.

Public programs are suggested as areas where visitors and community members can learn and enjoy both production and consumption. One space is dedicated to an ice cream parlour and bakery, echoing the historic dairy plants and bakeries scattered throughout Harlem and Manhattanville. The district’s rich history of breweries is referenced through the suggestion of a new brewery connecting to a restaurant space. In response to the transportation infrastructure that characterized the site, the showcasing of a more sustainable mode of transportation is suggested through the implementation of a bike shop that would engage residents and visitors with community events.