Post Industrial Logistics Hub: Building as an Organism | Architecture Thesis

Site Context

The project site spans an entire city block in Manhattan’s Hudson Square neighborhood, bordered by Spring Street to the south, Houston Street to the north, and Washington and Greenwich Streets to the west and east. This prime location presents a unique opportunity to redefine the role of a network hub in an urban setting, benefiting from its proximity to major tech headquarters, direct links to New York and New Jersey transportation corridors, and access to the broader Tri-State area.

A comprehensive site analysis explored the intricate interactions among existing traffic patterns, major transit routes, and pedestrian flows. This informed a tri-zonal strategy that thoughtfully integrates public space, logistics, and mobility infrastructure:

1- West Zone: Dedicated to smaller delivery vehicles, vans, and parking facilities, this zone optimizes operational efficiency for local and regional logistics.

2- East Zone: Designed as a vibrant public realm, this area incorporates landscaping, pedestrian pathways, and community spaces to foster connectivity and enhance urban life.

3- North Zone: Allocated for large 18-wheel trucks, this zone ensures seamless access and maneuverability, with turning radii engineered to support high-capacity logistics operations.

This tri-zonal approach balances the diverse functional demands of a network hub while integrating the site with its urban surroundings. It creates a harmonious relationship between logistical efficiency and public interaction, enhancing both utility and quality of urban life.

Design Process

The design process reimagined modern office typologies through massing studies that introduced staggered office spaces interwoven with logistics infrastructure. This innovative approach integrates office-human environments and logistics-package areas into a cohesive system, enabling offices to visually connect across multiple levels and interact dynamically with logistical operations. Additionally, the human experience is elevated through a plinth housing public amenities such as food courts, recreation areas, and social spaces, while vertical circulation systems seamlessly connect to loading docks and parking on the ground floor.

The human experience is both physically and conceptually elevated through the creation of a raised plinth that accommodates dynamic public amenities. This platform not only enhances pedestrian engagement but also strategically separates human-centric activities from ground-level logistical operations. Seamlessly integrated vertical circulation systems, including elevators, provide direct connections to the loading docks and parking areas on the first floor.

Taking inspiration from the Pompidou Center in Paris, the building’s façade redefines tradition by incorporating kinetic design elements. The movement of packages within the logistical spaces interacts with the façade, transforming it into a dynamic, adaptive surface. This responsive exterior echoes Manhattan’s ever-changing urban pulse, symbolizing the flow of transport and the continuous motion of its inhabitants.

Modern floor plan designs are influenced by the interaction of interlocking office and logistics spaces, where each function intentionally engages in a push-and-pull relationship. This produces juxtaposition and spatial heterogeneity, providing a sense of layered complexity that complements Manhattan’s complex personality. The design represents a vision of coexistence between human-centric spaces and the requirements of contemporary urban logistics through this synthesis of forms and functions.

Final Outcome

The project reimagines the office as a dynamic production organism, merging human and machine interactions into a cohesive whole. Employing techniques such as bending, faceting, and stretching, the design departs from traditional horizontal and vertical office configurations, embracing an exaggerated interplay of programmatic spaces. This innovative approach addresses the diminishing relevance of repetitive, individualized layouts in modern digital work environments, introducing instead a fluid, adaptable architectural framework that supports evolving workplace needs.

The exaggerated forms give rise to narrow, compact spaces tailored for logistical functions, operating independently of human activity. This design establishes a hybrid typology, where office-human environments and logistics-package systems intertwine, promoting both efficiency and innovation. Public amenities, including cafés, break rooms, and restrooms, are seamlessly embedded within the expanded geometry of the floor plans, enhancing both connectivity and workplace productivity. The longitudinal section showcases the intricate interweaving of functions, emphasizing the fluid movement between human-centric and logistics-oriented spaces.

A fully 3D-printed model measuring 2’ x 2’ x 1.5’ demonstrates the intricacies of the layered façade systems and the dynamic relationship between indoor and outdoor environments. This layered elevation employs color-coded abstractions of materials such as concrete, steel, and glass to highlight the interaction between the logistical geometries and the elevated public spaces. Serving as a critical mediator, the plinth elevates human-focused activities above the logistical functions at ground level, achieving a harmonious balance of form and function.

Conclusion: This project highlights architecture’s ability to adapt to the evolving needs of the modern workplace, creating spaces that seamlessly blend functionality with visual sophistication. By redefining the interplay between humans and machines within the built environment, the design offers a forward-thinking vision of workplaces that are both innovative and responsive to contemporary demands.

[This Academic Project has been published with text and images submitted by the student]