Transforming a Prison Site

Claire Weisz is designing a former Bronx juvenile prison site into a “permeable and open” affordable housing community.

‘Claire Weisz, principal-in-charge of WXY, said that “no parts of the former prison [were] being reincorporated” into the development. “The goal is to create a campus that incorporates living and working to reimagine this promontory place in Hunts Point,” she added.’

‘”Weisz said that “recreating and reconnecting the street grid” while “making a courtyard space [that] expresses the permeability and openness to the community” was a “priority of the team’s proposal.” Victor Body-Lawson, principal at Body Lawson Associates, added that the team “designed the courtyard as a hub that will foster interactivity between the community, residents, and visitors while melding commercial, manufacturing, and residential activities around a central space.”‘

Read more: A Notorious Former Bronx Prison Site to Become Affordable Housing, Architect’s Newspaper

Further reading:

Former Bronx Juvenile Prison to Become 740-unit Affordable Housing Development, Architect’s Newspaper

Bronx’s Notorious Spofford, aka Bridges Juvenile Center, Finally Shut Down, Daily News