Sited at 2296 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Boulevard in Harlem, Storefrontosis transforms a building once home to the legendary Small’s Paradise jazz club—and more recently a public school and IHOP—into a civic health anchor for chronic disease prevention. This adaptive reuse project addresses Harlem’s elevated rates of Type II diabetes by establishing a spatial and temporal architecture of care. Through a rearticulated storefront façade, the building foregrounds access, legibility, and rhythm: clinical programs are coordinated with the daily routine of the community, reinforcing architecture’s role as a conduit for health equity.

The plan choreographs both public and semi-private spaces, blurring the boundary between urban life and medical infrastructure. The entrance opens with a hydration bar, water fountain, and public lounge organized around casual seating and a pool table—spaces that encourage rest, socializing, and community presence. A teaching kitchen, public dining area, and farmer’s market zone offer nutritional support through shared cooking and food access. These programs activate the street-facing façade, embedding preventive care into Harlem’s public life.

The Thurgood Marshall Academy, which serves approximately 458 students across grades 6 through 12, remains in operation on the upper floors. The clinic below is designed to support both the surrounding community and the student population. Shared spaces—such as the group session room, lecture area, and public lounge—are adaptable for student workshops, health education programs, and after-school activities. This physical and programmatic connection reinforces the relationship between healthcare and education, making preventive care an integrated part of the school’s daily environment.

Toward the rear of the plan, semi-private clinical services—including retinal screening, glucose monitoring, podiatry treatment, and a group consultation area—are arranged for efficiency, clarity, and privacy with supporting spaces such as clinic reception, info desk, hand wash, and all-gender toilets to ensure accessibility and comfort across user groups.

By softening spatial thresholds, widening points of access, and transforming the street edge into an active zone of public health, Storefrontosis reframes the façade as more than frontage—it becomes a platform for visibility, routine care, and collective well-being. In doing so, the project proposes a new typology: the neighborhood storefront as site of preventive medicine, social support, and civic health infrastructure.