What if 19 latticed towers rose above Manhattan’s crumbling Pier 40?

What if a group of latticed towers rose above Pier 40 in Manhattan? That’s the question architecture firm DFA is pondering in a conceptual proposal that would the see rise of 19 towers atop the existing pier.

Dezeen first reported on the proposal, which features different groupings of cylindrical towers that seem to be enveloped in netting, as Dezeen describes it. Though the project is only conceptual in nature, DFA is looking to address many critical NYC concerns through its work such as the lack of affordable housing and the rising sea levels.

The proposal includes provisions for 450 units, which would be offered both as affordable housing and at market-rate prices. DFA has devised 11 groups of structures on the square-shaped pier with each of the towers measuring anywhere between 96 to 455 feet.

As you can see in the renderings, all the towers taper at the base; this is in case of flooding or rising sea levels—the apartments would start above this tapered section to protect them from the water. In addition, DFA has also designed two sets of pathways: one that’s on the ground level right above the pier (which also doubles up as landscaped open space), and an elevated pathway that connects all the buildings to each other.

With the rising sea level, DFA predicts that the landscaped area will be completely submerged by 2050, and the elevated pathways would then act as the normal mode of getting around the complex. The landscaped decks on the ground level would then act as floating islands.

This isn’t DFA’s first foray into jaw-dropping conceptual proposals; they were also the masterminds behind the 700-foot timber tower proposed to rise above the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park.

Of course in real life, the organization that manages the pier, the Hudson River Park Trust sold the air rights from Pier 40 to a group of developers across the street who are transforming St. John’s Terminal into a massive, mixed-use complex. The funds from the sale will go toward the sprucing up of the pier, which features a popular football field and a parking facility.

The HRPT however took DFA’s proposal in stride:

“We appreciate DFA’s creativity,” a spokesperson for the organization said.

• DFA proposes “floating” affordable housing for dilapidated Manhattan pier [Dezeen]
• What if a 700-foot timber tower rose on the Central Park reservoir? [Curbed]