Hillel Plaza
Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY
This proposal reimagines Hillel Place in Flatbush, Brooklyn, as a pedestrian-only plaza by closing the street to vehicular traffic and transforming it into a safe, vibrant public space. The design organizes the site into three distinct intervention zones, two programmatic and one physical, each responding to the unique challenges and opportunities of the location.
The physical intervention establishes a protective buffer between the plaza and the heavily trafficked Flatbush–Nostrand intersection. This buffer is formed by a series of mobile planters, flexible in arrangement, that create both a safety barrier and a dynamic edge to the space.
The first programmatic intervention introduces movable, inflatable furniture that can be adapted into seating structures or temporary shelters, allowing the plaza to shift fluidly between uses. The second programmatic intervention designates space for local vendors, strategically positioned near the entrance to Brooklyn College to foster community engagement and economic activity.
Materiality plays a central role in the project: the plaza draws from the existing textures of its urban surroundings, weaving them together into a continuous surface. This hyper-contextual approach allows the space to feel both rooted in its environment and expressive of its new identity as a civic gathering point.