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Social Housing in America: Architects Must Answer the Call

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

If you follow housing policy in America, you may have noticed a particular term cropping up a lot recently: social housing. Maybe you’ve read a longform academic article, live in a city that is codifying a social-housing policy like Seattle or Atlanta, or seen one of the recent mentions in The New York Times, highlighting U.S. and Viennese success stories. On the design front, Dezeen is running a social-housing revival series.

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BIG Designs Cantilevered Towers Surrounding the Freedom Plaza on Manhattan’s Waterfront

Located along Manhattan’s East River waterfront, the Freedom Plaza sets out to create a new civic and cultural hub, introducing a new open and green space in the crowded area, with plans to add an in-park Museum of Freedom and Democracy. Additionally, the scheme designed by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group includes affordable housing units, two hotels, retail, and restaurants. Developed by Soloviev Group and Mohegan, the Freedom Plaza development reimagines one of the largest undeveloped plots in Manhattan, measuring 6.7 acres located south of the United Nations headquarters in the Midtown East neighborhood.

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First-Ever +POOL to Open in New York City This Summer, with Plans to Expand Swimming Access across the State

New York Governor Hochul has announced a partnership with the nonprofit Friends of + POOL to open the first urban river-sourced swimming facility in the United States. Utilizing + POOL’s design and technology, the 2,000-square-foot plus-shaped swimming pool is set to open in New York City’s East River in the summer of 2024. In 2010, four young designers, Archie Lee Coates IV, Dong-Ping Wong, Jeffrey Franklin, and Oana Stanescu, established + POOL with the goal of providing New Yorkers with access to free and safe river swimming. Now the state promised to invest $16 million to pilot and scale the system, hoping to expand it across the state of New York.

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Adaptive Urban Regulations: Navigating Change in Affordable Housing, Infrastructure, and Sustainability in the U.S.

In the ever-evolving landscape of urban development, cities are faced with an array of challenges that demand quick and innovative solutions, ranging from the critical issue of affordable housing to the pressing need for efficient and decongested infrastructure and sustainable energy practices. As the demands of the built environment expand, local authorities worldwide are redefining policies and regulations to shape their cities. These innovative regulations can drive sustainable and consistent progress as cities stand at the intersection between their present challenges and future aspirations.

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BIG’s Twisting One High Line Skyscrapers Near Completion in New York City

A new set of images showcases BIG's One High Line development nearing completion. Located on the ‘Architecture Row’ in New York, the coupled twisting towers share the Hudson River skyline with neighbors such as Frank Gehry’s IAC building, Renzo Piano’s Whitney Museum of American Art, and Jean Nouvel’s The Chelsea Nouvel ('100 Eleventh Avenue'), along with future works by Thomas Heatherwick and other renown architects. The two condominium towers designed by BIG are organized to define a central public courtyard, activating the public space with retail and commercial facilities. The towers’ exterior and the majority of the interior are completed, with the courtyard expected to be finished by early 2024.

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Studio Gang Breaks Ground on the Shirley Chisholm Recreational Center in New York City

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, along with the New York City Department of Design and Construction, has announced the breaking ground on the construction of the Studio Gang-designed Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center. Located at the Nostrand Playground in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, the center aims to bring new amenities to the residents of East Flatbush while honoring the history and heritage of the community. The new center is named after Brooklyn-born politician Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman to serve in Congress and the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president of the United States.

Our Cities Aren’t Dead Yet!

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

It has been a bull market for downbeat urban reporting since the pandemic arrived in town. And it isn’t hard to see why. In 2020, central U.S. cities went from “comeback” success stories to ghost towns; transit lost nearly all ridership; tens of thousands of stores and restaurants shuttered; and many of the affluent decamped to the suburbs and distant Zoom towns. 

NYCxDESIGN's Design Pavilion Reveals Public Installations and Pavilions Across the City

From October 12 to 18, NYCxDESIGN presents the Design Pavilion, a prominent public architectural exhibition in New York. Occurring during Archtober, a month-long celebration of architecture, this year's Design Pavilion highlights three imaginative installations spanning materiality, sustainability, social justice, and more.

Two tangible installations have been designed to transform Gansevoort Plaza in the Meatpacking District into urban retreats, while the third exhibit offers a digital art projection at the World Trade Center Podium, addressing the nation's history of enslavement and the quest for healing. Along with the pavilions, the Design Talks program highlights and opens discussions on relevant issues of the profession, centering around themes of sustainability, repurposing, and waste reduction.

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