The site is located at 42-02 and 42-16 Vernon Boulevard in Queens, New York, immediately south of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge and to the west of the East River overlooking Roosevelt Island. These two parcels are to be considered together as the boundary for the project.
The seminar challenges students to re-imagine a vacant waterfront site in Queens, New York as a vibrant and vanguard model of healthy, biophilic living for the future of the city.The program challenges entrants to imagine new possibilities for the future of urban living. What is the relationship between the individual dwelling unit and the collective aggregation of units? How does a large housing development inculcate a strong sense of community through its programming, organization, and form? What is the relationship between interior and exterior spaces, uses, and views and how is daylighting incorporated into each unit? What are the health issues related to the choice of materials and how can the use of timber and wood be leveraged to create living spaces that are connected to natural systems and biophilic responses to constructed environments. Residences in this project are a mix of small units for single or double occupancy and larger, family-based units with more than one bedroom. All apartments must have exposure to natural light and air, as well as rooms that meet minimum size requirements of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).