Despite its declared Sanctuary City status and historic influx of immigrants in recent years, Philadelphia has yet to fully embrace how these trends may shape its urban form and program. Chinatown is the best example – with decades of mega-projects erasing key portions of the neighborhood and physically dividing it from the rest of Center City. This approach has led to the loss of historical significance, as many cultural buildings have been replaced by large complexes geared toward outsiders – tourists, commuters and visitors. This trend continues with the promotion of a new 76ers basketball arena as part of a re-imagined Fashion District.
This project aims to address these issues and act as a catalyst for change. The existing neoclassical façade of 821 Market Street will open its ground floor to enhance pedestrian flow and will include a new library program (a collection of books that are brought and curated by immigrants) to create a language and learning resource for the project, Chinatown, and city at large. Through the act of unbuilding, the projects attempts to not only reconnect the city, but also reconnect the people through the identity library programs linked to each residential unit. The physical design of the project seeks to create a prototype for how to develop and retrofit key linkages through the existing “development wall”.
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