Last week, the AIA's New York chapter and the Department of Buildings launched an international design competition that will seek to redesign the concept of the urban construction shed around sustainable design principles. The competition's goal is to create "a fresh, new sidewalk shed design that’s sustainable, economical, meets or exceeds current safety requirements and City regulations, improves technical and structural performance – and creates a better environment for the people who live in, work in and visit New York City." As you likely know, sidewalk sheds are required over public spaces to protect pedestrians from overhead construction activity; currently, there are more than 6000 sidewalk sheds installed and in use in the city that span over 1 million linear feet. The competition site is 280 Broadway, the landmarked 7-story building between Chambers and Reade Streets just north of City Hall that's currently home to DOB; the Italianate tower was once home to the original New York Sun newspaper and the A.T. Stewart Store- New York City's first department store.
