Organized by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), the Binational Softwood Lumber Council (BSLC), and Parsons The New School for Design, the competition attracted more than 1,000 architectural students and young professionals to develop proposals for a mid-rise, mixed-use complex that addresses New York’s urban housing needs.
The competition focused on a site in the Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood of Red Hook, with a population of public housing residents and working artists and designers, and a number of new residential and commercial developments.
With a focus on regenerating the urban manufacturing sector and addressing housing needs, entrants, working individually or in teams, were tasked with incorporating affordable housing units; a bike sharing and repair shop; as well as a vocational, manufacturing and distribution center for the innovative use of wood technology.
The winning design, Grow Your Own City, came from a team at the University of Oregon, and it's a system of modular pods made of CLT panels. It consists of low-rise housing with one higher tower, and additional low-rise buildings would hold a restaurant, bike shop, and the wood warehouse.
The structures surround a "green alley," an eco public park that harvests rainwater, hosts solar panels, and rehabilitates the natural habitat. The jury liked the layout of the apartments, which range from 350-square-foot studios to 990-square-foot three-bedrooms, as well as the "sensitivity to zoning, politics, and concerns of gentrification."
