SB+C Architecture, D.P.C.'s concept design for reinventing New York's Park Avenue Medians with a Wind Turbine has made the Final of the World Architecture Festival (WAF) Experimental Award category.

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.

SB+C created 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 Wind Turbine 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 Wind Turbine 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 Wind Turbine 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.