When the reasons for the rapid spread of the virus were discussed at the beginning of the pandemic, urban density was also in focus. Among other things, the pictures from New York, where a hospital ship anchored and tents were set up for the sick, gave the impression that the virus is spreading particularly where many people live close together. This thesis has now been refuted. The discussion about how to organize density so that cities and their residents are prepared for future crises is getting louder.
And again, many look to New York, where an average of more than 11,000 people live in one square kilometer. The projects that have been completed there in the past two years provide very different answers to the challenges of a dense, expensive city. Most of the people in this country have not yet been able to see them live because traveling to the USA was only possible with a special status until last Monday. But Baunetz accompanied the event and has gathered some reports from the archive here.
There is the new concourse at Penn Station, which celebrates local public transport, the privately financed, artificial island of Little Island standing on stilts in the Hudson River, which offers additional green space, or the honeycomb sculpture Vessel, which has not been accessible for several suicide jumps. There is the Amant Art Campus, which opened in Brooklyn in the summer, which offers artists temporary space to work, and the converted factory building which creates new offices. The MoMA has also got more rooms, the Mid-Manhattan Library has been renovated, the Highline has been extended and a new library has been built at Hunters Point. The fact that the plans come from well-known offices is a further argument for making a note of this selection for your next visit to New York. (fm)
Title: Little Island by Heatherwick Studio, Arup, and MNLA. Photo: Timothy Schenck
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