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FOR RELEASE:
1 November 2001 New York, New York Additional information is available from: Rick Bell, FAIA, Executive Director AIA New York Chapter 212-683-0023 x25 bell@aiany.org Or contact any of the design organizations listed below. New York New Visions, Design and Planning Coalition: New York Architects, Designers, Engineers and Planners Come Together for Lower Manhattan Immediately following the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, sixteen design and planning organizations formed a coalition, now called New York New Visions, to develop design and planning recommendations that will inform the large-scale economic and real estate development decisions that will be made in the coming months. This coalition intends to produce recommendations by the end of the year that will ultimately be presented to Governor George Pataki, the new Mayor of New York City, City and State agencies, and a wide array of civic and business groups. New York New Visions, unprecedented in the New York business community, comprises an impressive mix of resources and technical expertise characteristic of the New York design and planning world. These architects, planners, engineers, and artists, many of whom live and work in downtown, are formulating a creative, thoughtful, and publicly engaged set of design and planning principles for the revitalization of Lower Manhattan. "By offering their services and expertise, architects and other design professionals can help to speed both short-term recovery efforts and assist in shaping an improved downtown," said Margaret Helfand, FAIA, President of the AIA New York Chapter. Under the initial sponsorship of the AIA New York Chapter, the professional committees draw from the membership of a wide array of organizations, including:
SHORT-TERM: IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE FOR DOWNTOWN BUSINESS This Task Force provided immediate professional assistance for the residents and businesses in Lower Manhattan, and will continue to assist downtown organizations to respond to urgent needs, including streetscape improvements that can facilitate mobility; the creation of volunteer space-planning teams to assist relocation; and the provision of professional resources for businesses in need. The short-term restoration of business operations, residential occupancy, and downtown amenities is an immediate priority, and includes assisting the Alliance for Downtown New York and other groups. The Teams include: Building Assessment, responsible for creating a database of architects and engineers who are ready and able to do condition analyses to expedite building reoccupancy; Occupancy Assistance, responsible for organizing a roster of architects, engineers, and other design professionals with the technical expertise and the community spirit to assist office tenants and displaced small businesses with reoccupancy of their prior space or move-in at new locations; Interim Quality of Life, responsible for addressing immediate needs for streetscape improvements and the restoration of services that directly impact daily life in Lower Manhattan; Temporary Regulations, Codes, & Process, responsible for looking at ways in which review processes can be assisted and accelerated and how volunteers can productively augment agency review staff; Resources, responsible for assembling a database questionnaire to coordinate professional resources and to make design services available to affected tenants and property owners; Record Drawing, responsible for developing a database of available drawings and records for buildings in Lower Manhattan, working with the architects and engineers responsible for design and construction documents; and Tall Buildings, responsible for developing a statement of principles regarding the design and construction of skyscrapers. LONG-TERM: PLANNING RESPONSE TEAMS This Task Force is focused on the development of coherent design and planning guidelines that reflect an appropriate vision for Lower Manhattan. The Teams include: Memorial Process, responsible for working to give people a range of ideas for memorials, to provide principles for a memorial process, and to share the lessons learned from relevant memorials research. The task of integrating a dignified place for remembrance and contemplation within a re-emerging commercial and business center is the foremost challenge. The special role of rescuers and survivors for the memorial process will also be recognized. Connections, responsible for examining new and existing transit and other connections from local, metropolitan, and regional perspectives. These include connections via the waterways, extensions of public transit lines, circulation patterns for both pedestrians and vehicles, and linkages between public places. A serious consideration of the intersecting aspects of the built environment, streetscapes, open spaces, and transportation facilities will help create a cohesive, secure, and accessible vision for a reconnected Lower Manhattan. Uses, responsible for generating a range of international examples of successful and comparable urban centers that can be drawn upon to make Lower Manhattan a vibrant urban place with a mix of uses. Concepts for further investigation also include scale for sites and buildings and mixed-use program analysis. Growth Strategies, responsible for reviewing affected areas of Lower Manhattan and collect information on other parts of New York City where additional space is available or could be readily provided. Consideration will also be given to the related growth and development of New York City and the region. Quality of Life and Sustainability, responsible for working on a set of optimal design standards for public space and buildings and the most sophisticated sustainable design practices that can be used for the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan. Cultural & Historic Resources, responsible for mapping downtown cultural and historic resources. The evolving map, to be made available to neighborhood residents and visitors alike, will help bring people back to Lower Manhattan and in so doing assist in the restoration of commercial activity. Liaison & Communication, responsible for coordinating the overlapping spheres of information produced by the groups described above, assisting with getting the word out on available services and technical principles, and working directly with the press. |
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