Van Alen Institute and the New York City Council recently announced the winning proposals for Reimagining Brooklyn Bridge, an international design competition that aims to spark a new public conversation about New York City’s infrastructure. As made even more clear by the COVID-19 pandemic, public spaces and transportation options must be designed with equity, health, and sustainability at their core. With this in mind, the competition’s winning designs reclaim the bridge’s roadways for expanded pedestrian and cyclist use. By centering climate action, social equity, and creative expression, they also put forth strategies that could improve wellbeing in public spaces across New York City.
The winning design in the Professional category is Brooklyn Bridge Forest by a multidisciplinary collective of architects, conservationists, designers, and engineers led by Scott Francisco of Pilot Projects Design Collective. Brooklyn Bridge Forest triples the capacity for active transit, brings biodiverse forest and green spaces into the city, and establishes a partnership to conserve 200,000 acres of tropical forest.
The winning design in the Young Adult category is Do Look Down by Shannon Hui, Kwans Kim, and Yujin Kim; Hong Kong, Bay Area, CA, and New York. Do Look Down installs a glass surface above the bridge’s girders, creating a whimsical new pedestrian space brought to life by visuals that honor the city’s cultures, histories, and identities.
Each winner was chosen by a combination of public vote and scores from the competition’s interdisciplinary jury. Other finalists in the Professional category were Back to the Future by BIG + ARUP, New York; and Bridge X by ScenesLab + Minzi Long + Andrew Nash, New York, Boston, and Vienna. Other finalists in the Young Adult category were The Artery by Lukas Kugler, New Milford, CT; and The Cultural Current by Aubrey Bader and Maggie Redding, Knoxville, TN.
To learn more about the competition and see all proposals, visit vanalen.org
Images Credit: Courtesy of Van Alen Institute
