ODA New York—known for their distinctive residential projects like 420 Kent, 2222 Jackson, and 251 1st Street—has put forth a proposal that would reclaim an underutilized pedestrian island in Manhattan's Chinatown. The 'Dragon Gate' pavilion, a massive steel structure reminiscent of bamboo scaffolding, would offer a new gateway to the growing Chinatown neighborhood at the Canal Street Triangle.

The design, recognizing Chinatown as home to the largest Chinese population outside of Asia, deploys modern building materials while invoking Chinese Symbolism. Blending the two, the project manages to capture the neighborhood's unique characteristics and honors "the spirit of a place that feels at once timeless and original."

Designed for the triangular traffic island at the intersection of Canal, Baxter, and Walker Streets, the pavilion mimics the triangular shape in order to take full advantage of its site. Rising 33 feet, the Dragon Gate comprises a three-dimensional, gridded structure formed from steel, interwoven and painted light bronze to mimic bamboo scaffolding. Within, a constellation of red paint creates the impression of a dragon, a ubiquitous and important symbol in Chinese culture—indicative of strength and good fortune. 

ODA's design has accommodated for traffic flow by inflecting the structure with sweeping archways to create several access points, that feed into the pavilion’s central gathering area, where a set of interactive digital display screens would host community notices and way-finding information. Part community nexus, part forum, and part totem, ODA's design would be a new marker for the area—a symbolic and functional landmark at the heart of Manhattan’s Chinatown.