[Rendering: ArquitectonicaGEO]
For those who like their visions of urban planning conceptual and cool-as-all-hell, we give you the Envisioning Hudson Square Design Charrette, an exhibit of architecture porn that begins on Monday at the St. Johns Center at 550-570 Washington Street. You can read all the background stuff over in the Downtown Express, but basically what the Friends of Hudson Square have done is recruit five leading architectural firms to come up with whatever they want for the area between Leroy and Canal Streets, and Hudson Street to the river. The area is going through much change, of course, with Pier 40 and rezoning and sanitation proposals and all that fun stuff. Envisioning Hudson Square, which runs through November 21, is meant to get people thinking about what the long-term future holds for this fledgling little 'hood.
The organizers were kind enough to send us an aerial rendering from each of the firms involved. All of these images, as well as many many more, will be on display at the St. Johns Center. Again, the architecture firms didn't have to worry about actually getting these plans approved, so they were free to really go nuts. Above is our favorite, Arquitectonica's vision that includes salt-harvesting islands and ribbons of green space that represent the area's printing press past. Pretty freaking awesome.
The rest of the aerial renderings right this way. >>
