Queens, NY

Queens Plaza is a major commuter hub and a gateway for those traveling by subway, bus, or car over the Queensboro Bridge. This competition proposal to redesign that hub integrates a new ground level bus terminal and subway station with a raised park and bike path / greenway that extends from the East River to Sunnyside Yards. The park at platform level is an arboretum of trees to mitigate transit air quality. Outpost art spaces for nearby venues like PS1, projection surfaces and monumental digital displays are all inserted in the bridge structure. In this proposal from 1993, before the era of trasit wi-fi, the site was wired so commuters could plug-in while taking a break in the park.

So many of New York's public spaces are places of transit. We pass through them on our way to somewhere else pausing only to change trains, make a call, or buy a snack; but these are important moments, caesuras from the rush. The architecture of inter-modalism can shape, heighten, and prolong the moment. 

Project Team:

Gans and Company: Deborah Gans & Matthew Jelacic