Terreform propose an alternative masterplan of New York

Terreform propose an alternative masterplan of New York

Cities are in crisis. The global urban population is growing at the rate of one million people every week. The characteristic response to this has been the hydra of megacities and sprawl, forms that have already fallen over the edge of apraxia, dysfunctional both physically and socially.

New York City (Steady) State (NYCSS) proposes an alternative masterplan for the city, predicated on the idea that it is possible for the city to become completely self-sufficient, its ecological footprint co-terminus with its political boundaries. NYCSS examines the outer limits of the autarkic city, focusing on food, waste, energy, movement, manufacture, building, water, air and climate as defining systems that will, in turn, yield the anatomical diagram of self-reliance. Based on a rigorous process of research and analysis, NYCSS has made a series of calculations on both the demand and the supply of various functions of the city, and investigated a series of formal solutions that begin at the margin and attempt to harmonize autonomy and rationality.

NYCSS relies on the tenets of sustainability to guide its course, but unlike similar projects, demonstrates how this conceptual structure, balancing environment, economy and equity, manifests physically in practice. It is the mission of NYCSS to inform policy-makers and the citizenry of the unique opportunities that alternative architectural typologies, urban forms, and political-economic frameworks can have on city life.