Newark Visitor Center Competition

URBAN SAFARI

Newark is one of the most important transportation Hubs near Manhattan.  Newark Liberty Airport, Newark Penn Station and other various transportation-based structures near our site result in concentration of heavy vehicular volume in the city of Newark.  Urban Safari is an attempt to create a place that can congregate existing surface parking spaces that fills up most of city lots around the site, and to propose Newark Visitor Center that can be experienced both in person and by vehicles.  Important components of our scheme include two spiraling layers of circulations, one for pedestrians and one for vehicles, to provide movement up and down the structure, and nodes that directly respond to important views surrounding our site (Newark Penn Station, Newark Liberty Airport, Newark Downtown, Ironbound, Manhattan, New Park / Stadium).  These components 1_Pedestrian path, a vertical garden, 2_vehicular path, parking and Urban Safari that goes in and out of the building skin to hint different views around the site, and 3_nodes intersect to create program spaces and provide visual linkage to the city of Newark. 

Our scheme will address sustainability by using environmentally friendly concrete and wind generating devices incorporated in our building skin system.  New garage spaces, by allowing relocation of cars that are currently parked on the surface lot, will also provide opportunity for open space that could be used for creating more park-like green space or developed to create more commercial or residential space around Newark Penn Station.  Parking structure will also be a consistent source of income for Newark Visitor Center.  Urban Safari, pedestrian and vehicular visitor center experience, will provide new and exciting experience as a gateway to the city of Newark.