Scott Brownrigg and US based Crown Architecture & Consulting submitted design proposals for the New York “Centerline design competition”, a privately funded design competition to bring Park Avenue into the 21st century and transform its central reservation.

Known as one of the world’s most notorious accesses, Park Avenue in New York is recognised for its iconic tall buildings that are occupied by Fortune 500 companies. The medians of Park Avenue, or the “centerlines,” are characterised by periodic sculpture installations and landscaping and the avenue’s medians provide opportunities for creative reinvention.

The competition called for applicants to think “beyond the centerline,” using the medians as a blank canvas for creative ideas to engage the community and reimagine Park Avenue. The goal of the competition was to foster creativity and challenge participants to think outside the box; to propose exciting ideas that have never been considered possible for the medians; and to reimagine the existing urban landscape.

Scott Brownrigg partnered with Crown Architecture and Consulting to create a unique design proposal. Inspired by the “expect the unexpected” concept, the design puts an alien like structure in the centre of a structured urban environment by way of the dual purposed Wheel. The centrepiece of the project offers unparalleled views of the city with an environmentally conscious twist; the Wheel is also a wind turbine.

The Wheel offers a dynamic viewing experience; from up close high-level views of Park Avenue Skyscrapers to unobstructed northern views for the length of Park Avenue and beyond; offering a first time perspective for the public to enjoy. Even more exciting is the underground experience that the Wheel offers. New York City’s below grade infrastructure, arguably as important as its above grade buildings, is an area that rarely gets recognition as an attraction and is never seen from this viewpoint. The bottom of the Wheel’s cycle whisks riders in-between passing trains and back up again; an exciting unique experience for passengers of the Wheel and the train alike.

By locating the Wheel at this specific site, it broadens its uses to the corporate world, drawing tenants of the Park Avenue commercial corridor to take lunch breaks or host creative meetings within the capsules.

The Wheel, which sets the urban amusement theme, drives the concept for the rest of the median space. The remaining nine blocks are a variety of small-scale fun interventions bringing focus and interest one block-length at a time.

Congratulations to the 17 shortlisted designs, selected from 150 submitted innovative entries.