Our title, “United Highbridge” is a human translation for strengthening the existing social network of the Highbridge neighborhood in the Bronx. Its a design about people rather than an icon.
This idea allows the topographically-introverted community to extend its functionality by binding it together and physically opening up towards Manhattan. With a programmatic extension of the bridge on both sides, it integrates into the social structure of the neighborhood and functions as a generator for a strong and healthy future in HighBridge.

Highbridge Community: over 30,000 residents 2,000 middle school age students 1 private k-8 school ($3100/year)
2009: approved funds for 384-seat middle school
United Highbridge:
Bronx side: – classroom complex / park extension – sport facilities – library extension
Manhattan side: – small cafe – bike [rental] station

Preserving the bridge is a unique opportunity to vitalize a landmark in its Bronx neighborhood through publicly activating the space by strengthening the area’s infrastructure. Providing the long overdue infrastructural need of child education in Highbridge, Bronx is the core of our proposal. By aligning to, and expanding current networks of community functionality, a physically decentralized middle school could use existing area facilities and engage students more intensely with their neighborhood, creating an inherent sense of commitment and redefining the public school.
This network is a comprehensive urban design, deployed to expand and interconnect the Highbridge Parks on the sides of the Bronx and Manhattan. The proposal combines preservation of monuments and extends networks on the strength of the existing community by respecting the scale of the area.
In a population over 30,000 in 0.39 square miles, over 50 organizations unified to strongly advocate for a HB middle school and convinced the Dept. of Education to provide funding. A 384-seat school has been approved, although the community was seeking a minimum 1200-seat school.
Instead of building 100% of the approved 384-seat school, why not build an expandable 33% of a 1200 seat middle school? Our proposed middle school creates a ‘student corridor’, aligning a main classroom complex with the HB Public Library and Mullaly Park. Disbursing 10% of the classrooms to the library and adding temporary structures to the park would reclaim public space for school use during class times. This connection will engage students in public facilities on an almost daily basis, strengthening existing public and social networks.
By inserting much needed public infrastructure adjacent to the bridge, the now- isolated neighborhood monument can have a more activated public presence. Our proposal attempts to foster new relationships between public resources by acknowledging existing networks* and using them in our deployment of education infrastructure.

*Centers of public housing, child/adult education, food, health, daycare, community organizations, and public recreation.

Classroom Complex: an aggregation of class, studio, and lab units in linear volumes interconnected by diagonal circulation along the slope. The top surfaces are divided between public park on higher ground and private school terraces extending from the lower units. The units form a loop connecting to University Ave. in two places, while leaving room below and above for future expansion into the 2000 seat middle school, which the community needs.

HB Public Library Extension: by using existing library and study rooms, and adding classroom extensions above, the secondary classroom hub will be the HB Library, acting as a nexus between the main classroom complex and the sports fields while integrating the public facility more into the student’s daily lives.

Mullaly Park Athletic Bubble: A portion of Mullaly Park is covered with a light bubble structure, acting as the school gymnasium and usable by resident groups outside of school functions.

HB Cyclist Cafe: In anticipation of higher pedestrian traffic and park use, the public path on the manhattan side extends into a bike (rental) station and café. This provides a much more mobile link of park users to the bronx High- bridge neighborhood and the ‘greenpaths’ on the larger scale of New York.

Bridge / Classroom Connection: The north entrance of the class complex connects to the large stair adjacent to the bridge, which acts as a buffer between the park intervention and the preserved bridge.

City Network: Connection of Parks Midtown Zone

9th Ave & 32nd St.

Typical Section East/West Orientation

Typical Section North/South Orientation

7th Ave & 35th St

In the left side of the collage is Canal Street, where we studied the syncopation of movement relative to other walkers, each with their respective destinations, formulates a weaving path in which boundaries (ex: street/sidewalk) are crossed. In the center is the Williamsburg Bridge, where the finite and directional qualities of traversing a bridge were noted. Certain household actions require a similar environment of focus and directionality. On the right side of the image is Central Park Ideas of horizon were formulated from focusing on connections between the observer, the sky and determined position relative to tall buildings which pierce the visual horizon created by the tree edges. In our prototype, similar light and view connections to the surrounding context will become the horizon which grounds the inhabitant of the unit. The winding action and continuity of moving through central park is similar to household cleaning. Connections are made in the short video, which help inform floor plan layouts.

Strategy for Wind-Harvesting Facade

Volumetric studies were tested by extruding the optimal site area and trimming the shape to optimize performance of light, wind, and views. The circle enclosed by the buildings (see plans) is a preserved park for which the light and views were optimized.
Wind : the volume is optimized for maximum wind channeling and harvest via surface geometry.
Views : The largest, most direct corridors aligned toward park and river spaces are optimized to preserve views for the existing buildings on site.
Light : The volume is adjusted for maximum southern light penetration, which augments toward the afternoon.

This section illustrates three spaces created by gaps in the aggregation of units, which were directly informed by the previous performative massing studies. Gaps designated as communal spaces occur at the intersections of optimal vectors light and view. Smaller gaps hold wind turbines, which collect wind at points determined by the fluid dynamics studies. The slight S curve of the overall section turns forward and backward across the building, changing the surface geometry to effectively funnel wind at specific points of concentration. This direct response to the shape of the surrounding context shapes the surface of the building while optimizing energy harvesting.

A rhino script drove the aggregation of units which changed shape in section across the mass in response to optimized geometrical conditions. The S shaped section changes from a froward to backwards (twice), with straight vertical I sections in between to provide elevator and stair cores.
When all architectonic issues are synthesized in the aggregation of units, specific moments occur, which we propose to be unique connections to the local context and sky. Outdoor paths expand into communal spaces serving the surrounding units. More green spaces are located across the facade as well as the roof.