Tashania Akemah
Tasha is a New York and Jakarta based designer and researcher. She earned her Master of Architecture from Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. Prior to her Masters degree, she holds double degrees in Architecture and Architectural history.
Off-the-Wall
Fall 2022
Type: Academic
Status: Done
Status: Done
This project is a collaborative effort with Emilie Kern.
Located at a busy intersection in Mott Haven, Bronx, Off-the-Wall is a housing projects that looks into designing for rapid changes within an urban context. Starting from the land, the site has been through significant growth since the early occupation days of NYC. The site was once a marsh land that has been filled to accommodate population and industrial growth. Additionally, the site is on a flood risk zone. On a social scale, the Bronx is known for its racially and economically diverse population. Specifically around the South Bronx, many of the early population has been pushed out since the 1980s due to the lucrative housing needs and gentrification.
The architecture challenges the social and physical changes of the site. The project prioritizes the use of shared public spaces on different scales intended for future needs. On the smallest scale, the unit, a wall system is created to accommodate family growth. The wall which typically houses the HVAC system connects units. The unit in this case is a growing cell. On a residential scale, the shared spaces of the residents are equal to the size of their private units. The shared residential spaces is intended to accommodate the minimally sized private units. On a public scale, this projects looks into creating access for the waterfront that is currently heavily privatized. The ground floor is open for all public uses, primarily for research on the marshes to rehabilitate the ecological damage from the last few decades on the area.The structure intends to push past the current waterfront that is marked by the train tracks carrying trash from NYC. This project draws a connection between the growth of an individual to the growth of the city.
Located at a busy intersection in Mott Haven, Bronx, Off-the-Wall is a housing projects that looks into designing for rapid changes within an urban context. Starting from the land, the site has been through significant growth since the early occupation days of NYC. The site was once a marsh land that has been filled to accommodate population and industrial growth. Additionally, the site is on a flood risk zone. On a social scale, the Bronx is known for its racially and economically diverse population. Specifically around the South Bronx, many of the early population has been pushed out since the 1980s due to the lucrative housing needs and gentrification.
The architecture challenges the social and physical changes of the site. The project prioritizes the use of shared public spaces on different scales intended for future needs. On the smallest scale, the unit, a wall system is created to accommodate family growth. The wall which typically houses the HVAC system connects units. The unit in this case is a growing cell. On a residential scale, the shared spaces of the residents are equal to the size of their private units. The shared residential spaces is intended to accommodate the minimally sized private units. On a public scale, this projects looks into creating access for the waterfront that is currently heavily privatized. The ground floor is open for all public uses, primarily for research on the marshes to rehabilitate the ecological damage from the last few decades on the area.The structure intends to push past the current waterfront that is marked by the train tracks carrying trash from NYC. This project draws a connection between the growth of an individual to the growth of the city.
