Urbanistic Continuity: A Lo/Lux (Low cost – Luxury) Housing Project that Envisions a New Urban Future for New York City | Masters Design Project

Site Context

The 150,000-square-foot housing addition to an existing NYCHA development in Bushwick, Brooklyn strengthens urban connectivity by incorporating public access through landscaped gardens, seamlessly linking the vibrant corridors of Flushing Avenue and Broadway. Drawing inspiration from New York City’s iconic urban grid, the site plan establishes a cohesive spatial dialogue between the existing NYCHA buildings and the broader city fabric.

Beyond its architectural approach, the project actively addresses gentrification concerns by prioritizing affordability and inclusivity, ensuring that Bushwick’s evolving urban landscape remains accessible to longtime residents. Through thoughtful design and strategic urban integration, Urbanistic Continuity cultivates a more connected, accessible, and socially responsive future for the neighborhood.

Design Process

Inspired by New York’s identity as a concrete jungle, the project develops its orthogonal massing through an in-depth exploration of concrete casting—a process where positive mass defines negative space. This method shapes the project’s architectural language, mirroring the city’s dense urban fabric.

A broad range of housing precedents were analyzed and hybridized to create a flexible system that accommodates both single residents and joint families. To promote spatial inclusivity, a catalogue of thresholds was established, providing a structured framework that fosters harmonious coexistence between diverse household structures.

Final Outcome

Referencing Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ “Maintenance Art Manifesto 1969!”, which critiques the lack of attention and care given to New York’s maintenance systems compared to the excitement of creation, this project reimagines essential infrastructure as a sculptural and experiential element within housing design.

A scissor staircase serves as both a functional and artistic intervention—one half remains closed for use as a standard fire egress, while the other half is open and exposed, connecting duplex or triplex units for joint family living. This design introduces a controlled threshold, offering large families limited yet intentional access between units.

Rather than relegating the fire staircase to a neglected corner of the building—where maintenance often suffers—it is brought directly through the living room, transforming it into a sculptural focal point within the home. By integrating a system of maintenance into daily life, this approach elevates infrastructure to an art form, ensuring it is not only functional but also visually engaging and better maintained over time.

New York’s orthogonality is embedded into every stage of the design, starting with the facade, where its structured language is articulated to function as building ducts. This geometric rigor extends to a finer scale, influencing the interior layout, including the design of furniture and toilet cores, ensuring spatial coherence throughout.

York’s dense urban fabric but also proposes innovative ways to enhance its maintenance systems, merging aesthetics with functionality to create a more efficient and sustainable built environment.

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