Architect 2014-03.pdf

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the way you think of things,” Cassell says. “She’s
among a vanguard of designers doing lots of
fruitful thinking about the complexities of the
city. In 10 years, as the results of that thinking
trickle down, it’s really going to change the way
we perceive and use cities.”
THOUGH OUR AGING INFRASTRUCTURE may
seem like an intractable issue, Drake notes
that there is already money in the pipeline to
repair our roadways, bridges, and sanitation
systems. The trick is to leverage those funds
by expanding our definition of infrastructure.
“Infrastructure today is way beyond thinking
about the physical thing. Think instead about
the economic value of the real estate,” she says.
By example, she points to the Brooklyn
Queens Expressway (BQE), which already has
some federal funds allocated for its repair. Her
project, BQGreen, proposes a way to reknit the
communities divided by construction of the
BQE by making the highway an ecologically
productive spine that supports new recreation
spaces as well as infrastructural improvements.
The road would become a public amenity for
everyone, not just for drivers. “It makes no sense
for a transit corridor to be only about transit
when it’s running through some of the most
expensive real estate in the world,” Drake says.
“So don’t just solve one very specific problem.
Think holistically.”
The BQ Green project for the
Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
“A New Urban Ground,” Dlandstudio and ARO’s entry for MoMA’s “Rising Currents” exhibit
ARCHITECT MARCH 2014 WWW.ARCHITECTMAGAZINE.COM