Archinect - News

The Brooklyn Bridge’s infrastructure improvements are kickstarting a renaissance for bicycling

2022-03-25T13:18:00-04:00

The Brooklyn Bridge finally caught up with the COVID-19-era rise in cycling last year after the city opened a dedicated bike path on the iconic span’s roadway. It was one of the signature initiatives in the final year of the Mayor Bill de Blasio administration, and advocates lauded the addition, which was also the first reconfiguration of the bridge since old trolley tracks were permanently removed in 1950.

Bicycle traffic on the bridge increased by more than a quarter from 2020 to last year. The jump is indicative of an overall city-wide trend, which has seen New Yorkers’ biking habits increase at a rate of 33%. The numbers likely correlate to the pandemic-era decrease in subway ridership caused by fears of viral contagion and an increase in violent incidents.

New York inaugurated 30 additional miles of dedicated bike paths in the past months, leading to a marked increase in traffic on the Manhattan and Queensboro Bridges (although DOT noted a minor decline in the use of the Williamsburg Bridge). The (almost) 139-year-old structure had previously only allowed for very uncomfortable biking on its crowded pedestrian walkway before construction was completed in the fall, after which the AMNY recorded a whopping 88% increase from the same months in 2020.

Van Alen Institute's "Reimagining Brooklyn Bridge" Competition winners have been announced

2020-08-19T17:29:00-04:00

After much anticipation, the winners of the Van Alen Institute Reimagining Brooklyn Bridge competition have been announced. Thanks to the competition's design jury and a public vote held during the competition's Virtual Design Show, the winning designs are "Brooklyn Bridge Forest" and "Do Look Down."

Within the competition's "Professional" and "Young Adult" categories, the competition brief was to provide proposals that would help redefine the Brooklyn Bridge to become "a new kind of icon." With aims to spark more public discussion about New York's infrastructure, the competition winners and selected finalists each provided a design to emphasize "climate action, social equity, and creative expression."

Deborah Marton, Executive Director of the Van Alen Institute, shared in a statement, "The competition's top proposals demonstrate the Brooklyn Bridge's potential to be a new kind of icon. The winning and finalist designs all contained excellent elements for us to consider as a city."

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Finalists of Van Alen's Reimaging Brooklyn Bridge competition have been chosen. Who will take the prize?

2020-07-14T16:17:00-04:00

With the launch of the Reimagining Brooklyn Bridge competition earlier this year, the Van Alen Institute and New York City Council aimed to create an international open call for architects and designers to "rethink" how New York's iconic Brooklyn Bridge walkway could look in the future. The bridge's walkway is an iconic piece of the city; however, as the pandemic quickly swept across the globe, the idea of "reimagining Brooklyn Bridge" aimed to address more than just a simple redesign.

According to the Van Alen Institute, "As made even more clear by the pandemic, the design of our streets and shared spaces must be responsive to the present moment and work to correct past injustices. They must foster equitable, accessible, and sustainable transportation options, create a healthy and safe environment for all New Yorkers, and opportunities for small businesses and vendors to flourish."

With these new judging conditions in play, the jury selected the following six proposals to advance ...

Virtual Architecture Events for May 28th & 29th

2020-05-28T14:05:00-04:00

Today's featured virtual event happenings, from Archinect's Virtual Event Guide, address the Brooklyn Bridge and the 2020 Wege Prize Awards. RIBA is also hosting its first virtual reality talk.

Are you hosting a virtual lecture? Presentation? Tour? Interview? Happy Hour? Submit it for consideration by clicking here.

Are you an expert in an arena that's especially important right now? Let us know if you would like to work with Archinect to host an online event.

Reimagining Brooklyn Bridge: Transportation Infrastructure as Public Space
Thursday, May 28, 2020 | 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM EDT
As sheltering orders ease, we know the Brooklyn Bridge and the City at large cannot return to business as usual. The Van Alen Institute has invited leaders in urban design, transportation, and public policy to share their ideas, and offer insight into how cities can redesign existing bridges, parks, plazas, and streets to be better well into the future.
Click here to attend and/or register

RIBA FREESTYLE Talk ...

A design competition to help redesign New York's Brooklyn Bridge promotes creativity and digital collaboration!

2020-03-25T15:43:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by the Van Alen Institute

In light of the widespread disruption caused by the COVID-19 crisis, we have extended the submission deadline for Reimagining Brooklyn Bridge by two weeks. The new deadline is Sunday, April 19 by 11:59 pm ET.

There is no requirement to work together in person at this stage, and we strongly encourage participating teams to collaborate digitally and follow social distancing guidelines. We understand your workflows have been disrupted, so if you need guidance on how to proceed, contact us at competitions@vanalen.org.

The Brooklyn Bridge is one of New York’s most recognizable landmarks, and holds a special place in our collective imagination.

Since opening on May 24, 1883, the bridge has taken on near-mythic significance in New York City. Its striking form has captured the imagination of some of the nation’s most prominent artists. Its enduring iconographic power makes it one of the most photographed locations in New York. In popular...

Van Alen Institute and New York City Council call for competition proposals to "Reimagine the Brooklyn Bridge"

2020-03-09T16:41:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by the Van Alen Institute

*Competition Update: New deadline extension - Sunday, April 19 by 11:59 pm ET

The Brooklyn Bridge is one of New York’s most recognizable landmarks, and holds a special place in our collective imagination.

But that iconic status comes at a cost. At peak hours, the promenade is crammed, uncomfortable, and sometimes unsafe. Thousands of pedestrians and cyclists cross the bridge every day. In response to these conditions, the New York City Council and Van Alen Institute have launched Reimagining Brooklyn Bridge, an international d...