Dezeen School Shows: a proposal that uses biogas, solar and wind power for a public infrastructure project is among the architecture designs from students at the New York Institute of Technology.

Also featured is a network of community-centred green spaces and a pedestrian walkway, bike path and monorail proposed for the Bronx, New York.

New York Institute of Technology

School: Architecture and Design
Course: ARCH 402: Urban/Community Design
Tutors: Matthias Altwicker, Evan Shieh (Co-Coordinators), Tom Verebes, Paul Ruppert, Inanc Eray and Sandra Piesik

Course statement:

"Community Design Studio has been a tradition for more than three decades at the School of Architecture and Design at New York Tech.

"Students explore the agency of architecture though broader planning and urban design strategies, which engage both the human scale and communities, the public planning agencies impacted by them and inspiring decision makers.

"The aim of this studio is to challenge students to think about how the design and planning of architecture in the built environment are distinctly implicated in the production of various urban, economic, social, infrastructural and environmental relationships of the city, and the experience of these at multiple scales.

"In the spring semester 2025, fourth year BArch students looked at the entirety of the Cross Bronx Expressway as its framework site, and were challenged to reconsider the future of an outdated mobility infrastructure. This is prevalent in the urbanisation, formation and structuring of American cities.

"Students learned how to utilise architecture, urban design, landscape and urban planning tools to address and revert the historic segregation and the environmental issues that freeway implementation has imparted onto the built environment of our cities.

"The project builds upon New York City's Department of Transportation and New York State's recent 2024 draft vision plan that examined (with community input) possibilities to cap the expressway, expand public park space and improve connections across and along the divisive highway.

"The studio also took on New York City's recently passed City of Yes for Housing Opportunity rezoning plan, introducing the most extensive changes to NYC Zoning since 1961, to promote affordable housing in transit-oriented neighbourhoods and ease parking requirements.

"In each studio section, the Cross Bronx Expressway was parcelled into five zones, and each student group took on a specific zone as a focus study area to develop their projects.

"Over the course of the semester, the studio met with Nilka Martell from #Loving the Bronx, and Gail Nathan from the Bronx River Arts Centre, fostering an open and collaborative dialogue with the local stakeholders.

"Each guest introduced a different perspective on the community, culminating in a public presentation and exhibition open to the community at the end of the semester.

"This exciting public event was held at the Bronx Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School near the Cross Bronx Expressway, and an invited jury of academics, practitioners and community leaders, along with the students at the school, selected a winning proposal for each of the focus study zones of the expressway.

"The project awardees are featured below."

Communities Elevated by Madeline Metzler, Katrina Deicmane and Shazit Uddin⁠

"Capping the Cross Bronx Expressway to reconnect divided neighbourhoods through green corridors, wider walkable streets and expansion of existing resources.

"This proposal reduces air and noise pollution, restores street continuity and transforms the expressway into a vibrant civic spine with parks, interior and exterior public programmes and more accessible transit access."

Students: Madeline Metzler, Katrina Deicmane and Shazit Uddin⁠
Tutor: Inanc Eray⁠
Award: Winner of Zone 1⁠
Course: Arch 402

Green Stitch by Sivapriya Janakiraman, Yash Oza and Manasi Bhise⁠

"The South Bronx faces a trio of deep-rooted paradoxes. Despite being an industrial hub with abundant jobs, economic hardship persists and average incomes remain low.

"Though the Cross Bronx Expressway as a major connector, it fractures rather than unites the borough; and while green parks exist, they lack programming and feel disconnected.

"Our 'Green Stitch' vision seeks to heal these divides, relinking neighbourhoods through ecological corridors, walkable greenways and community programmes.⁠ "

Students: Sivapriya Janakiraman, Yash Oza and Manasi Bhise⁠
Tutor: Sandra Piesik
Award: Winner of Zone 2
Course: ARCH 402 ⁠

Why Aren't We Growing Food Here?⁠ by Zainab Chaudhry, Baghdad Numi and Vensee Asodariya⁠

"This project reimagines neglected land along the Cross Bronx Expressway by transforming it into a network of green spaces centred on food, learning and community.

"By capping the expressway and integrating urban farming with housing and education, it turns overlooked spaces into regenerative landscapes.

"Food becomes more than nourishment. It becomes a shared experience that strengthens community bonds and promotes environmental and social resilience.⁠"

Students: Zainab Chaudhry, Baghdad Numi and Vensee Asodariya⁠
Tutor: Matthias Altwicker⁠
Award: Winner of Zone 3⁠
Course: ARCH 402 ⁠

Cross-Bronx Mono-Rail by Daniel Melendez, Gerasimo Stavrianopoulos and Joao Favale⁠

"66 per cent of trips on the CBE start in the Bronx and end in the Bronx. This proposal addresses these problems with a pedestrian walkway, bike path and green space along the expressway, creating healthier commuting options while honouring families, homes and communities.

"Above, a suspended monorail runs along a thin rail supported by columns spaced 90 feet apart, preserving the space below and minimally impacting the urban environment.

"It also provides much-needed east-to-west travel. Stations placed in densely populated areas will connect to MTA lines and feature local businesses, Citi Bike rentals and bus stops, forming vital community hubs that improve commutes and conditions.⁠ "

Students: Daniel Melendez, Gerasimo Stavrianopoulos and Joao Favale⁠
Tutor: Paul Ruppert⁠ ⁠
Award: Honourable Mention Prize
Course: ARCH 402 ⁠

Resources within Reach by Pauline Barsegyan, Clara Moy and Seyilnen Parradang⁠

"The Cross Bronx Expressway fractured the Bronx community by dividing neighbourhoods and disrupting access to resources.

"Our project focuses on restoring connectivity in the Bronx by implementing a shuttle system that links existing and proposed programmes, creating community gardens in underused spaces, and developing new housing, cultural centres and green spaces to host different activities in the neighbourhood.

"These interventions aim to improve access to services and transform the expressway from a barrier into a platform for revitalisation.⁠"

Students: Pauline Barsegyan, Clara Moy and Seyilnen Parradang⁠
Tutor: Matthias Altwicker⁠
Award: Honourable Mention Prize
Course: ARCH 402 ⁠

Evan Shieh⁠ by Sharon Cunningham⁠, Kyle Robbins⁠ and Julia Ajith⁠

"Rewiring the Bronx reimagines the Cross Bronx Expressway as a green energy corridor funded by Industry Improvement Districts (IIDs).

"Utilising biogas, solar and wind power, it generates sustainable revenue for public infrastructure, mitigates pollution and fosters economic equity through green jobs, community amenities and industrial campuses.

"The design integrates biogas modules and wind turbines within the expressway trench, solar canopies shading pedestrian pathways and educational facilities and public plazas layered throughout, creating a multifunctional, interconnected urban ecosystem.⁠"

Students: Sharon Cunningham⁠, Kyle Robbins⁠ and Julia Ajith⁠
Tutor: Rewiring the Bronx
Awards: Winner of Zones 4/5⁠ and Winner of the Popular Choice Award, voted on by the students of the Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School⁠
Course: ARCH 402

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and New York Institute of Technology. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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