Washington Heights
Broadway 157th street to 175th street.
The nomad has a territory , he follows customary paths , he goes from one point to another , his not ignorant of points. But the questions is what in nomad life is a principle , and what is a consequence. To begin with , although the points determine paths , they are strictly subordinated to the paths they determine , the reverse of what happens with the sedentary. The water point is reached only in order to be left behind , every point is a relay. A path is always between two points , but the in-between has taken on all the consistency , and enjoys both autonomy and a direction of its own. The life of the nomad is ( they conclude ) in the intermezzo.
Nomadology : The War Machine.
Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guatteri
Broadway is a symbol of heterogeneity from different points
of view , it interrupts the continuity of the rational grid
of Manhattan , at the same time it changes its character
along the whole city , but never loses its condition of
mobile ground.
In Washington Heights this condition is emphasized by the
Latino Culture that understands the street as a meeting
space , generating motion and static points
simultaneously.
The design strategy was focused in the study of the
condition of mixed uses of the block types , and how it can
be applied to generate new points along this path ,
programming in order to reinforce the potentialities of the
community life at different scales.
The Probes are related to the existing Transportation
Infrastructure and Institutions which generate activities ,
but at the same time interrupt the continuity of the
commercial strip.
At St. Mitchell Square a mixed used block-type is proposed
linked to the subway station by an existing underground
connection , that will be used as an information center
based in the immigrant culture. The public spaces reach the
upper levels breaking the horizontal character of the
strip.
At 157th street an enclave of cultural institutions is
completed with a center for interchange that will generate
employment and educational facilities. The connection with
the subway is at the auditorium level in a flexible uses
plan.
The last probe is related to the market and the religious
institutions at 175th street , providing the necessary open
space to develop these activities that are already
dominating the site.