ENCOMIUM TO FREEDOM : Roosevelt island , NYC

Politecnico di Milano, Polytechnic University of Milan, School of Design

Project idea

Encomium to Freedom is a hyper contrasting yet integrated complex situated on the south side of uniquely shaped Roosevelt Island, East River, NYC. The main objective of the masterplan is to connect the Cornell Tech campus to the ruins of Smallpox hospital - the only building categorized ad ruin in NYC - and the Four Freedom Park and monument by Louis Khan. On top of this carefully considering the challenges posed by flooding and exposure to the wind as well as the practical aspect of designing a functional complex capable of attracting tourists and New Yorkers alike while providing services for the campus and residents of the island.

Project description

Considering Lois Khan’s monument as the strongest architecture on the island, its physical extension becomes the leader for the two main alignments while its conceptual extension gives form to the program. Expanding the influence of The Four Freedom Monument along with the entire intervention conceptually and physically, by forming a grid from the alignments dictated by the monument and multiplying it to improve management of the space throughout the masterplan and carefully planning functions and interactions to best complement the context. The main connector in the form of a pathway flows through the entire intervention, generating not only several entities such as an amphitheatre, underground courtyard, museum and Observatory Tower, but also a reference around which the masses are located.

Technical information

The whole intervention is elevated 3 meters to protect it from the projected flooding levels for the next century. Landscaping is extended to the Smallpox hospital ruin to include this unique ruin in the flood prevention area, while the grid design allows to orient buildings breaking prevalent winds and optimizing sun exposure. Functions include publicly available spaces such as an amphitheatre, multilevel courtyard, sport dedicated area, and a dock, designed to protect boats from the strong currents of the river, for both private and public water transportation to improve connectivity with the city. Built masses host a hotel and congress centre, a shopping mall, cultural centre, library, and exhibition pavilions, leading to a museum hosted within the ruin.

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