Stair-(e)-scape

Located at the north-west corner of Washington Square Park, the new office of the Municipal Art Society of New York is an homage to the marvelous cityscape of NYC. The design starts from a study on New York’s fire-escapes, one of most distinctive features of its urban appearance. By pushing the circulation system out to the periphery, this most dynamic part of the building is open to public access both visually and physically. Adopting this organizational strategy, the interior space is free of vertical structures, allowing maximum flexibility in office arrangement. The shifts of CLT frames gradually open up spaces to various depths, forming in-between spaces of various scales from catwalks to patios according to the adjacent urban context. Integrated with the circulatory and structural system, these in-between spaces on the facade perform as thermal buffer zone for the entire building.


Advised by Grace La, Fall 2020, Harvard GSD