This urban charrette was completed in May 2021 as part of "Placemaking Muchattoes Lake," an initiative of the Yale Day of Service (YDOS) - The Architect Is In. YDOS's continued efforts in Newburgh, New York, grew out of a successful one-day design charrette titled “Reimagine Lake Street Corridor” in May 2019. YDOS volunteers and community members reviewed the problems and potentials of the existing Lake Street Corridor for safer and more welcoming access to Muchattoes Lake.

Access to public space and natural resources has become an even higher priority during the pandemic. In 2020, YDOS partnered with the students at HOH (Horizons-on-the-Hudson) Magnet School in Newburgh, NY for a virtual design charrette that invited students to learn about placemaking and to submit their own ideas for Muchattoes Lake as a public space promoting people’s health, happiness, and well-being.

To bring this project to fruition, YDOS invited volunteers to breathe life into the students’ ideas and sketches. Each volunteer received a student submission and had full creative range to interpret and produce ‘architectural drawings.’ Palmyra PLLC was thrilled to participate in the effort!

In response to Marta and Nicole’s provocation, this proposal centers around a gateway pedestrian bridge, a new and worthy entrance to the City of Newburgh. By connecting the two sides of New York State Route 32/Lake Street and by introducing a walkway over the waterfall, this new Newburgh landmark not only connects the proposed Muchattoes Lake Trail and the Quassaick Creek Trail but also gives the citizens of Newburgh access to a new casual dining area as well as a small amphitheater in the vicinity of the falls. The scheme also rethinks the New York State Route 32 / Lake Street by introducing segregated pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular traffic.

This project along with work by others volunteers was displayed together with the original submissions by HOH students in an outdoor exhibit and virtual gallery in May 2021.

Type of Project: Urban Charrette
Location: Newburgh, NY
Status: Completed (May 2021)

Collaborators:
YALE DAY OF SERVICE - THE ARCHITECT IS IN
Marta & Nicole Rawlison, HOH Magnet School
Brandt Knapp, B R A N D T : H A F E R D

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