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New York Restoration Project Jumpstarts Design Competition with Selection of Eight Local Firms

New York Restoration Project Jumpstarts Design Competition with Selection of Eight Local Firms

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, architects have been called to arms to both engage in the immediate recovery efforts and to come up with design solutions that will make New York City’s buildings more resilient and sustainable in the long-term. The latest in a flood of new Sandy-inspired design initiatives was launched yesterday by New York Restoration Project (NYRP), dubbed “EDGE/ucation Pavillion Design Competition,” asking a group of hand-picked, up-and-coming architecture firms to create a storm-resistant pavilion in Sherman Creek Park right on the Harlem River.

The structure, located on a former illegal garbage dumping site, would serve as a boating facility and outdoor classroom for a number of activities such as wetland exploration and oyster gardening. The NYRP undertook a major clean-up of the polluted 5-acre area in 1996 and has since transformed it into a healthy and verdant public space for recreation and boating. The project is expected to cost $900,000. With the help of Susanna Sirefman of Dovetail Design Strategists, the NYRP selected eight Manhattan and Brooklyn-based firms, that include: Bade Stageberg Cox, Desai/Chia Architecture, HOLLER Architecture, KNE Studio, Lang Architecture, Taylor and Miller Architecture + Design, Urban Data & Design, and WORKac.

The firms will submit their proposals on September 16th, and the following month, a Technical Advisory Group made up of leaders in the field—such as Adrian Benepe, Director of City Park Development for Trust of a Public Land and Thomas Christoffersen of BIG—will select the five finalists. A new jury—including NYRP founder Bette Midler, James Polshek of Ennead Architects, and Christopher Sharples of SHoP Architects—will then look over the submissions. A winning proposal will be announced in late November 2013.


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