The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan of Manhattan, 1811-2011
09/01/2012.
Museum of the City of New York. [NYC] Dec 6 through Apr 15
metalocus, PEDRO NAVARRO
metalocus, PEDRO NAVARRO
In June 2011, the Architectural League issued a Call for Ideas inviting architects and urban designers from around the world to "speculate about how Manhattan's grid might be adapted, extended, or transformed in the future."
Tabula Fluxus: A new topography for tourists Yikyu Choe, Michael Chaveriat, Myung Kweon Park (New York, Korea) "With New York's population expected to increase by a million more people, compounded by the dramatic escalation in tourism, the architects of "Tabula Fluxus" propose to build a second grid 700 feet above the existing street grid. This new grid relieves street congestion, creates new sites and facilities for tourism, and redefines Manhattan as a truly three-dimensional grid."
The Informal Grid Ryan Neiheiser, Giancarlo Valle, Isaiah King (New York) "Using the iconic Manhattan block as a module, the architects behind "The Informal Grid" aim to reinvigorate Manhattan's plan by extending the existing grid with "informal" configurations of blocks along the waterfront, creating both new sites for building and novel spatial experiences for pedestrians."
Flow My Tears, The Commissioners Said Ghilardi+Hellsten Arkitekter: Franco Ghilardi, Ellen Hellsten, Espen Vatn (Norway) "In "Flow My Tears," the architects tell a story, that of a vaguely unhappy couple as they ascend a tower several miles high that extends the entire width of Central Park North. As they describe the extreme vertical urbanism that such a tower creates, the architects aim to recapture the sense of limitless possibility and radical experimentation that the Commissioners' Plan its
Projective Exceptions Grant Alford, assisted by Spencer Lindstrom (Texas) "Inspired by the Flatiron Building, where the intersection of Broadway and Fifth Avenue created one of New York's most iconic buildings, the architect of "Projective Exceptions" optimistically imagines three new exceptions to Manhattan's grid and how they might similarly lead to innovative architectural and spatial experiences. One example: looping two lanes of Park Avenue onto 75th and 76th Streets to create a misplaced e
The Plaid Architecture Commons: Eric Ho, Rick Lam (New York) "In the area of the Commissioners' Plan (Houston to 155th Streets, river to river) the intersections of streets and avenues occupy 3%, or 268 acres, of Manhattan's ground surface. The architects of "The Plaid" propose to reclaim this area-through temporary interventions, by building over it, or by rerouting existing traffic flows underneath-to introduce dynamic new uses, from public gardens to tennis courts and even a Ferris wheel that
6 1/4 Avenue Ksestudio architecture: Kyriakos Kyriakou, Sofia Krimizi Assisted by Yubi Park, Jennifer Endozo, Inti Rojanasopondist, Pauline Caubel (NYC, Greece) "The architects of "6 1/4 Avenue" propose to amplify an already existing phenomenon-the mid-block access via parks and building lobbies made possible by privately owned public spaces-to insert a new northsouth avenue one quarter of the way between 6th and 7th Avenues, which then becomes an opportunity for exploring new relationships.
Dissociative New York Joshua Mackley, Mathew Ford (New York) "The architects of "Dissociative New York" argue that the regulatory frameworks that shape the city's built environment-its zoning laws and preservation districts-are arbitrary and capricious, accreted over years and selectively enforced. "Dissociative New York" advocates for a new kind of regulatory structure, one that would remove absolutely all regulations (zoning, preservation) from the avenues, while simultaneously freezing in the
NYCity2 Fotis Sagonas, Ioannis Oikonomou (Greece) "The architects of NYCity2 explore how emergent digital technologies can be harnessed to help New Yorkers play a more engaged and vital role in shaping the future of their city. A virtual grid is overlaid on the existing physical grid, a digital platform onto which residents can upload ideas for their block, neighborhood, or the city as a whole. The ideas are then accessed by New York architects, who in turn upload design responses to the same vi
Manhattan’s familiar street grid is a work in progress, an evolving creation that began with a bold vision by the city’s commissioners in 1811, but which has been altered and amended by generations of planners, builders, and advocates. What mark will future architects, private developers, and city officials leave on the grid? What new kinds of buildings will they construct within its blocks, and what new ways will they devise for organizing its streets?
To answer these questions, the Architectural League of New York, in partnership with the Museum of the City of New York and Architizer, issued a Call for Ideas inviting architects and urban designers to speculate about how Manhattan’s grid might be adapted, extended, or transformed in the future. The Unfinished Grid: Design Speculations for Manhattan presents the eight winning projects, all of which offer provocative ideas for the future of the city.
Members of the jury for the Call for Ideas were: Amale Andraos, Hilary Ballon, Rosalie Genevro, Sarah Henry, Wendy Evans Joseph, Marc Kushner, Mark Robbins, Gregory Wessner, and Sarah Whiting.
And through April 15
THE GREATEST GRID: THE MASTER PLAN OF MANHATTAN, 1811-2011 celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811, the foundational document that established Manhattan’s famous street grid. Featuring an original hand-drawn map of New York's planned streets and avenues prepared by the Commission in 1811, as well as other rare historic maps, photographs and prints of the evolution of the city's streets, and original manuscripts and publications that document the city’s physical growth, the exhibition examines the grid’s initial design, implementation, and evolution.
The Greatest Grid traces the enduring influence of the 1811 plan as the grid has become a defining feature of the city, shaping its institutions and public life.The exhibition is accompanied by a book of the same name, edited by Hilary Ballon of NYU, who also curated the exhibition, and co-published by the Museum and Columbia University Press.
Venue: Museum of the City of New York · 1220 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10029 · 212.534.1672
The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan of Manhattan, 1811-2011. Dec 6 through Apr 15
The Greatest Grid: Gallery Tour. Sunday, January 15 at 2:00 pm.
