Project by Nien Lee, Fern Sripongtanakul, Ashley Broyles
This project reimagines a typical Midtown office block as a multi-layered urban home that supports human and non-human life. It begins by addressing Midtown’s core issues, vacant office floors, limited public space, harsh microclimates, and a lack of social infrastructure. By removing the underused low-rise building at the center, the block “unfolds” to create a new internal garden that links St. Patrick’s Cathedral to a continuous network of POPS extending across four blocks.
Vacant floors in the surrounding towers are transformed into housing, with recessed façades providing terraces for everyday outdoor use. A climate-responsive canopy stabilizes the interior environment, regulating temperature, humidity, and airflow so that plants, residents, and urban species can thrive year-round. Through interconnected programs, community kitchens, bike infrastructure, gardens, and elevated public spaces. The block shifts from a daytime-only business district to a resilient, inclusive neighborhood prototype.
