Situated on a site dissected by New York’s High Line park, this project engages the public in an exciting way that encourages skateboarding as an alternative means of exploring and understanding the urban environment
Throughout the project, several moments capture the strange dynamism of the collision of program. This rendering of an office break room overlooks a skatepark retail floor, with view's of Midtown Manhattan.
Skateboarding has often been viewed as a subversive part of youth counterculture, yet this project embraces it as a healthy component of a larger urban space. Although this was a school project, the hardcore mystique of VANS' branding image inspired the theme of the project.
This single-tenant office and retail tower explores the duality of selling merchandise in today’s world. The building becomes a manifestation of the intersection and interdependence of the two worlds of office and retail that must coexist within the company.
The excitement and spectacle of skateboarding uniquely activates the retail space for an interesting shopping experience, while the retail and community engagement focused on urban activity help promote skateboarding in a positive way.