DETACH

a university housing complex merging community and public space

Rockefeller University, New York City

This project seeks to unify the activity of the university with both residential and public space, giving each user agency of the space and maximizing movement and community. By disassembling the conventional residential tower into individual blocks that stack together, the building offers each unit a corner typology to receive light, views, fresh air, and ventilation, as well as supplying a denser corner for storage, structure and systems. This play on thick and thin structure manifests through the heavy materiality of concrete and the lighter materiality of glass for the facade. People share connecting corridors to circulate throughout the space, as well as shared exterior terraces that emphasize engagement as a community. Shared amenity spaces with the community at large are on the first floor of the building and serve as the basis for bringing people together.