Reinventing New York's Park Avenue Medians - The Wind Turbine

Park Avenue, one of the world’s premiere thoroughfares, is traditionally known for its tall buildings that are home to Fortune 500 companies. The medians of Park Avenue, or the “centerlines,” are traditionally characterized by plantings and periodic sculpture installations. Park Avenue medians represent a traditional element of New York City but also provide an opportunity for reinvention. Other areas of New York City, such as the High Line, have successfully transformed into an exciting destination for city dwellers and visitors alike. This design competition called for visionary design proposals for the Park Avenue medians (between 46th – 57th Streets) with the aim to enliven Park Avenue’s commercial district. The goal of the competition was to foster creativity and challenge participants to think outside the box; to propose exciting ideas that have never been considered possible for the medians; and to reimagine the existing urban landscape. Ideas that bring Park Avenue into the 21st century. The design proposal is inspired by the “expect the unexpected” concept, which puts an alien like structure in the centre of a structured urban environment by way of the dual purposed turbine. The centrepiece of the project offers unparalleled views of the city with an environmentally conscious twist; the Wind Turbine is powered by the wind passing between the buildings towards its strategic location. The Wind Turbine will offer a dynamic viewing experience; from up close high-level views of Park Avenue Skyscrapers to unobstructed northern views for the length of Park Avenue and beyond; offering a first time perspective for the public to enjoy. Even more exciting is the underground experience that the Wind Turbine offers. New York City’s below grade infrastructure, arguably as important as its above grade buildings, is an area that rarely gets recognition as an attraction and is never seen from this viewpoint. The bottom of the Wind Turbine’s cycle whisks riders in-between passing trains and back up again, an exciting unique experience for passengers of the Turbine and the train alike. By locating the Wind Turbine at this specific site, it broadens its uses to the corporate world, drawing tenants of the Park Avenue commercial corridor to take lunch breaks or host creative meetings within the capsules. The Wind Turbine, which sets the urban amusement theme, drives the concept for the rest of the median space. The remaining nine blocks are a variety of small-scale fun interventions bringing focus and interest one block-length at a time. Each with individual character but all focusing on the new addition to the Park Avenue skyline (movement above) and on the spectacle of trains transporting people in and out of Grand Central (movement below).