Wise Towers

New York City’s Housing Authority has partnered with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and private developers to overhaul the previous system of designing, building, and operating public housing sites. As part of this system, we have worked closely with the local communities to create completely new landscapes, play areas, and other outdoor amenities for Wise Towers and numerous other sites.

The many exterior spaces here represented highly diverse programming needs: elder care, families with children, recent immigrants, active youths. The existing site was in an advanced state of disrepair, and rarely complied with current codes. We created a new system for thoroughly analyzing each site on a variety of criteria. These site analyses, combined with our community outreach efforts, directly informed our design process and allowed us to address a wide range of problems. With this base, we then redesigned all areas as engaging, inviting spaces tailored to residents’ needs.

The water play area included numerous features to engage kids while also looking great. We carefully selected natural boulders for play value and safety, and also included a stream, a small bridge, and different types of spray experiences, among other features. While our budget didn’t allow for expensive mechanisms, we found ways to use topography to increase play value. Kids use the winding watercourse in a variety of interesting ways, including floating boats downstream, building bridges, and even designing little dams.

Typology
New York City Housing Authority PACT

Location
New York, NY

Completion
2024

Size
2.5 Acres

Collaborators
Monadnock
SLM Architecture
Jablonski Building Conservation

Recognition
2025 ASLANY Honor Award
2025 New York Landmarks Conservancy Lucy. G Moses Preservation Award 
2024 Modernism in America Awards Citation for Art Preservation