The reincorporation of the New York City street grid through the Wagner Housing site is an investigation of a holistic method to derive informal and healthy community relationships based on the ideas of hetergeneity sought in a permaculture: a healthy community begins with healthy exchanges between its inhabitants.
Although the grid may imply rigidity, the urban fabric enables the spontaneous or informal community setting that is the cornerstone of an urbanism that can sustain. The street grid is a constant, its experience shifting across zones, where the subtleties and nuances become defining qualities.
The melding and transitioning of space across a gradient is a central theme of this project. The towers-in-the-park model of many NYCHA projects creates a stark difference to their surrounding neighborhood. We are investigating how the Wagner Houses can be blended into the experience of the overall neighborhood.
Through an analytical investigation into the patterns of the East Harlem community, the design team was able to develop strategies to reconnect the Wagner Houses with the surrounding neighborhood.