Iceberg- A Renewed Summer of Pools

This project borrows the logic of the iceberg, hiding most educational and recreational programs through subterranean spaces. The new space layout addresses the lack of ground floor open space in Manhattan, with a tower adding monumental significance for the ancient "Summer of Pools". This project creates a new common civic space of recreation and education available all year round for a twenty-first-century Manhattan.

The side at East Hudson Street is designed as the entrance since most people are coming from there and it's also where students go to their schools, reconstructing the layout of the haha fence. A continuously exposed ramp on the ground surrounds the whole swimming pool, serving as a haha fence that separates the whole site into a more private inner swimming pool area and outer public park area. A tree grid pattern is applied to guide the visual connection between the public park and the swimming pool, entrance, tower, etc. Multiple plants embody the respect for environmental protection and sustainable development.

Programs from top to bottom, including the tower, pool, library, exhibition entrance, tennis court, and badminton court, are linked via a continuous ramp from the ground surface to basement level 4. Columns are replaced with trusses to create an open space, echoing the truss of the tower facade. The underground space is built with well-calculated connection angles. The width of the gap is 10ft, which is determined by people's eyesight and the sunlight. Reasonable utilization of architectural techniques and the Iceberg Strategy creates a more humanized and modern public space.