NYC O.E.M.
As an institution, the NYC O.E.M. (Office of Emergency Management) is responsible not only for educating the public about potential emergencies, but also for coordinating city-wide response efforts in times of crisis.
This proposed redesign for the NYC O.E.M. acknowledges tensions inherent within the institution’s operations as well as between the current building and it’s atypical site, Cadman Plaza Park.
The building must negotiate between opposing scalar demands –approachability
for the park-goer and iconicity relative to speeding cars – which results in a low-rise perimeter and towering apex, all wrapped in the same tensile skin.
To function properly, the building must attract and educate the public while remaining poised for lockdown, juggling transparency and security, invitation and exclusion.
To do this, the entire ground level becomes a continuation of the park – physically seamless but specifically programmed.
In this area, themed booths
amuse participants while covertly educating them about disaster preparedness, introducing a productive tension between fun and impending risk.
