Dumbo, New York, Brooklyn, [pick one-R.] often regarded as an up–and–coming, urban hot-spot, prides itself on its trendiness, youthful vibes, and embracing of industrial chic culture. Over the past eight years, DumboUMBO, Brooklyn has undergone tremendous renovations, repair, and an influx of artists and youth alike. To the east of this booming neighborhood, Vinegar Hill has not quite thrived and prospered quite to the same degree as DumboUMBO, despite similarities in demographics and age range. [Good! A characterization of the context as your introduction. However, are the demographics really similar? -R] In an effort to integrate Vinegar Hill into DumboUMBO, [Why? -R] our design takes advantage of the site‘s unique placement on the border between these two neighborhoods. Our solution is based on the use of project creates pedestrian malls that branch out from Jay Street—a heavily pedestrian and commercial street—and Bridge Street, a heavily residential street of Vinegar Hill. The pedestrian streets are meant to ease the transition between the drastically different conditions at the East and West side.

The architecture calls for a condition [odd phrase -R.] where people from each neighborhood may funnel into pedestrian malls and congregate with their fellow neighbors in an attempt to [don’t use hedging language -R.] integrate the two groups of people. By providing a slew of [word choice? -R] entertainment, dining, retail, and residential options, all logically sequenced throughout the site, the two groups come together in unison, for a common purpose [overreaching? -R]

Because of the emphasis on social interaction, the site operates on a few levels of circulation emphasize this [dangling modifier? -R]. To accentuate the stratification of program, various levels of circulation have been established [passive voice! ack! 🙂 -R]. The ground floor level exists for the common citizen [cringe… word choice… -R], a means to explore the retail and entertainment available at the site and as a means of compelling the resident of DUMBO and Vinegar Hill to stroll through the plaza space in an effort to connect the two neighborhoods more. The second level of circulation exists as a means of accessing the dining and leisure points of the site. The addition of altitude adds for scenic views of the plaza and the site in general, an outdoor elevated space that is rarely seen in NYC (with the exception of the High Line). A forum and a series of ramps mediates between both circuits.

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