The project began with the adaptation of programmed precedent spaces. The public void of Piazza Sant Ignazio, the Kilic Ali Pashi Bath house, and Carnegie Hall’s recital room adapted to the site condition of Astor place. The spatial qualities of the precedent programs transformed to the envelope of the East Village. At the ground level the piazza is adapted to sink the public realm of Astor Place into the public infrastructure of the subway station. The promenade carves its way vertically to bridge the space from the public to Carnegie Hall, where the architecture has been hinged and pushed towards the facade of the envelope to expose the performing arts to the public. The triangulating promenade continues vertically to the public bath, hinged around the promenade to re-imagine the separation of the two programmed spaces of the precedent. The poché created by the spaces and the connecting promenade is adapted to create overnight stay rooms, and public use space. Structure is managed and distributed through four vertical elements and horizontally loaded through beams aligned with the edges of the inherited precedents. The envelope shrink wraps itself to the promenade, exposing the inner circulation of the space to the public.

This project explores the boundaries of precedent adaptation within the envelope of a modern urban environment. Through explorations of structure and spatial continuities I designed a structure for public consumption.