Harlem & New Rochelle, USA
TACTICAL MUTATIONS
Design team: Silvia Vercher, Dimitra Papageorgiou, Joel Rios, Yimeng Sun
Columbia University: Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design
Location: New Rochelle& Harlem (NYC), USA
Year: 2013
In both sites we are diversifying our programs by using the existing local agencies and services to
improve the life of the community.In the physical design of the spaces and programs; we breakdown the activities in New
Rochelle in various scales, to redefine a more active down town and create walkable districts. In East
Harlem we consolidate programs and investments that are scattered around the NYCHA blocks to gain
the maximum benefit and define a shared corridor and public spaces bring back the fabric of the city
in to the NYCHA blocks.
A healthy city or a community is one that develops through its local assets and human resources with an
understanding that socioeconomic health of individual is what secures the health of a society as a whole. Once
every member and local organization gets the chance to contribute to the community and be part of the growth,
only then economic development can be achieved in an ecological manner. Through the analysis of both sites, East Harlem and New Rochelle, we identify contrasts and similarities in order to recalibrate our assets and opportunities. In doing so, we find our main actors and ingredients to create our framework.
