The 6th borough catalyst is a hyper dense 15MM sf of new development proposed over the Hoboken Rail Yards immediately west of Manhattan and across the Hudson River.If a city is characterized by its plan, New York City is defined by its grid put in place in 1811. A series of measures ensured that generations later we have an incredibly congested and activated public realm at the level of the street. As a consequence our skyscrapers tend to be homogenous envelopes containing single uses. The vast majority of square footage of the city remains fundamentally disconnected from itself, leaving us with disconnected privatized public space.
As there is an inevitable increase in density, there is an opportunity to reconsider the imposition of a planometric grid system, and instead consider the potential of a volumetric grid, around which there would be a diversity of large cultural programs, thereby redefining both movement and the relative isolation each traditional block faces as it reaches for the sky.
(Project completed with John Brent Simons)
lovett.city 