Hillel Plaza
Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY
2018
Hillel Plaza addresses the need for a pedestrian-only space by closing Hillel Place to traffic in Flatbush, Brooklyn. In this proposal, three zones were designated for a specific type of intervention - two programmatic, one physical. The physical intervention is a buffer between the pedestrian zone and the busy and congested intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Nostrand Avenue. The buffer consists of several mobile planters that can be arranged in multiple configurations to create a barrier between car traffic and people. The first programmatic intervention involves movable, inflatable furniture that can be used to create seating structures and temporary shelters. The second programmatic intervention is a designated area for vendors that ties into the entrance to Brooklyn College. The plaza’s design, and specifically the materials used were determined by the existing material textures that surround the site. The plaza creates an opportunity for these disparate textures to meet and flow into each other, making the plaza hypercontextual in its materiality.