The Bronx, located at the northernmost part of New York City, is defined by its unique historical topography and diverse landscapes. Its western border is shaped by the Hudson River, while the East River and Long Island Sound outline its eastern edge. Within these borders, steep hills and rocky ridges dominate the terrain, creating natural valleys and a distinctive character of “oceanfront marsh and beach” alongside “rocky and wooded” regions. These geographical features have long influenced the development and connectivity of the Bronx, challenging east-west infrastructure while offering ecological and aesthetic richness.
By reimagining the Bronx’s relationship with its topography, this project offers a model for adaptive urbanism in New York City. It seeks to harmonize urban life with ecological systems, ensuring resilience and sustainability in the face of future environmental challenges. Through this dual strategy of vacating the valleys and densifying the ridges with housing and a relocated school complex, the project envisions a Bronx that not only survives but thrives alongside the dynamic forces of water and land. In the project, re-imagining land-use in the face of climate change is complemented with new approaches to materiality, tectonics, aesthetics, and while providing new visual and neighborhood connections between the ridges, and between the Bronx and Manhattan.
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