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Farm Follows Fiction, Reimagine a NYC Icon†
location: New York City, USA
client: Metals in Construction Magazine (competition)
†Designed/directed by MLauzon Chief Creative Officer Lemay

All images courtesy of Metals in Construction Magazine

The Challenge

International open and anonymous ideas competition sponsored by Metals in construction magazine to simulate design innovation around the Architecture Challenge 2030: targeting net zero buildings. The competition object was the retrofit and energy performance of the building envelope of the Metlife building (former Pan-AM) in New York City’s midtown.

The Response

Winning Entry, the bold scheme envisions a complete make-over and repositioning of Gropius’s much-maligned tower from urban liability to essential asset for New Yorkers by integrating a vertical greenhouse in its facade, a farmer’s market in its base and a dirigible landing pad on the roof. The proposal integrates an array of sustainability strategies working in tandem to reduce the energy consumption by 75%. The proposal is presented in didactic and fun comic-book format.

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