big multifunctional shelf at park avenue, NY, features lush green gardens, by studio JCW

to revitalize new york’s park avenue and its medians, studio JCW founded by Chanon wangkachonkait and jaehong chung suggests elevated and expanded areas by using grid-shape structure inspired by surrounding skyscraper grids. the ‘big shelf’ will provide diverse programs, spaces, and views for the public, as well as much more green space than existing conditions.

‘park avenue’s medians have been a fixture on the major boulevard for more than a century,’ explains jaehong chung. ‘although the topical treatment of planting strategies and sculpture exhibits has been changed periodically, the foundational physical form of its stacked programs has been in existence since the railroad was covered. in its current state, park avenue is entirely surrounded by skyscrapers, which are comprised of mostly gridded, structural façades.’

in addition to the diversity of programs, plants and shrubs within the site will contribute towards vision 2020 development plans by absorbing vehicular noxious gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane. another point of the big shelf is the addressing of the segregation of the medians by crossing traffic — by connecting the medians via underground pedestrian paths, the site will benefit from continuous pedestrian circulation along the entirety of park avenue without any crosswalks. furthermore, the slope from the underground path to the medians will offer convenience and diverse viewpoints for pedestrians.

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: maria erman | designboom