Capitol District, Bronx - Urban Design Forum

About the Project

161st Street Business Improvement District (BID) will work with a multidisciplinary team of designers to transform Lou Gehrig Plaza, Joyce Kilmer Park, and other spaces in the Bronx Capitol District into lively destinations for residents and visitors.

The team, along with designers from Metropolitan Urban Design (MUD) Workshop, Habitat Workshop and Sighte Studio, will engage local residents and merchants to reclaim and reimagine public spaces along 161st Street. They will activate Lou Gehrig Plaza and its surrounding areas with art, lighting, vendors, and events that reflect the culture of local communities. Their goal is to create a greater sense of belonging for residents in their public spaces and showcase the value of public space investment in the district.

A pre-activation site photo of Lou Gehrig Plaza, where the team will be building an installation to provide shading, seating, lighting and space for community celebration. (credit: Cameron Blaylock)

The team spoke to community residents at the Bronx Night Market earlier this summer to get input on ideas for the installation design (Credit: Habitat Workshop)

Residents selected different design elements that they wanted to see in the installation (credit: Habitat Workshop)

The team demonstrated lighting elements in the plaza to a Steering Committee of neighborhood residents. (credit: Habitat Workshop)

First peak of the SAIL installation at Lou Gehrig Plaza during the opening event – designed by MUD Workshop, Habitat Workshop, and Sighte Studio in partnership with 161st Street BID and a local Steering Committee. Fabricated by IDEKO with support from Silman Structural Solutions. Credit: Cameron Blaylock

People socializing and sitting on the benches and under the shading provided by the SAIL installation during the activation event. The Plaza normally gets very hot in the summer so the shade structure made it cooler during the event. Credit: Cameron Blaylock

161st Street BID brought out live bands to the plaza for the event, Manny’s Boogaloo Crew and Morrisania Band Project. Credit: Cameron Blaylock

Community residents sitting on the installation benches and enjoying live music performances by Manny’s Boogaloo Crew and Morrisania Band Project. Credit: Cameron Blaylock

Shachi, Jieun, and Robyn from the design team speaking at the activation event, introducing the installation. Credit: Cameron Blaylock

The Team hosted a community paint day and invited neighbors to help paint the benches of the SAIL installation.

Team

161st Street BID was created to provide a vibrant commercial district and improve the quality of life for those who live, work, visit and shop on 161st Street in the Bronx. They aim to keep the streets clean, promote commerce and enrich the area through special events and cultural projects.

Trey Jenkins

161st Street BID

Michael Torres

161st Street BID

MUD Workshop is a minority and woman-owned urban design and planning firm dedicated to community-centric revitalization of neighborhoods and public places. Habitat Workshop is a minority and woman-owned architecture and urban design practice dedicated to creating spaces, objects, and interactions that activate human connections, build resiliency, and reveal the intrinsic value of a place. Sighte Studio is a woman-owned architectural lighting design studio committed to the creation of beautiful, functional and just spaces.

Shachi Pandey

MUD Workshop

Gabriella Getacho

MUD Workshop

Niva Shah

MUD Workshop

Jieun Yang

Habitat Workshop

Farzana Ramnath

Habitat Workshop

Francesca Bastianini

Sighte Studio

Iris Ahn

Sighte Studio

Robyn Bohn

Sighte Studio

Phillips Lytle LLP is providing legal support across the project teams.

Molly Brennan

Phillips Lytle

Shengkai Xu

Phillips Lytle

Jocelyn Ng

Phillips Lytle

Flora Donovan

Phillips Lytle

Image credit: Cameron Blaylock and partner organizations

Support

Connected Corridors projects are made possible with support from National Grid’s Project C, NYC Department of Small Business Services, Charles H. Revson Foundation, Deutsche Bank, and the NYC Green Relief & Recovery Fund, administered by City Parks Foundation. Our programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

To learn more about supporting the Local Center, please contact Katherine Sacco, katherine@urbandesignforum.org and Lauren Nye, lauren.n@anhd.org.