Neighborhoods Now Washington Heights

Neighborhoods Now is a collaboration between the Urban Design Forum and Van Alen Institute that connects New York City neighborhoods hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic with design firms in their collective network.  BAAO partnered with Abruzzo Bodziak, Overlay Office, Parc Office, and Smith and Sauer as part of Design Advocates to develop design solutions for retail stores in the neighborhood of Washington Heights trying to reopen following COVID restrictions.

Design Advocates is a collection of architects and designers who collaborate on efforts to serve the public good through pro bono projects, research, and advocacy. Our team developed schemes that envisioned ways in which restaurants and retail establishments could occupy closed streets as part of the Open Streets initiative.  We worked with Community League of the Heights to identify retailers in need.  We designed kits-of-parts components comprised of a mix of custom and off the shelf materials that could serve as seats, tables, and barriers throughout the streetscape.