Staerk Blok 32

The future of LEGO Academic Work

Site: Midtown, Manhattan, NYC.

Fall 2022 - Professor Judi Monk

Partnership with Matt Haight

Individual Contribution: Conceptualization, Floorplans, Sections, All Renders.

The Staerk Blok is a 44-floor mixed-use tower strategically located in Midtown Manhattan. This proposal seeks to solve the issue of low-income family housing in an area predominantly occupied by high-income residents. Made to serve as the only LEGO manufacturing plant in a highly dense metropolitan city, Staerk Blok brings together other elements of mixed-use programming in order to socially diversify and balance the surrounding neighborhood. High-density, low-income family housing, and integrated workforce housing are the primary residential considerations for this proposal. Another commercial programming is included, acting as attractors to the site while also serving the needs of the structure's residents.

Volumetric Process Modeling

LEGO's focus on creativity and play heavily influenced our design choices for the Staerk Blok tower. The manufacturing portion of the program serves both production and education purposes, encouraging visitors to learn about the brick-making process and build with bricks in the museum portion.

Hotel and residential floors also provide opportunities for visitors and workers to cut down on commute times and spend more time pursuing their interests. Communal spaces throughout the building promote creativity and conversation between inhabitants. Retail serves as a way to collaborate with other brands and bring visitors in.

To create a semi-private space in a chaotic city, we manipulated the ground in the middle of the building and installed a water feature and stairs for rest. A similar effect was created along 8th Avenue with a private-public space bordered by a grass wall and a falling water wall to drown out the sounds of the city. Our design ultimately seeks to promote creativity, play, and community in the heart of Manhattan.

The Staerk Blok project, in partnership with LEGO, has taken a strategic approach to zone regulations to achieve an extensive and diverse program. As-of-right zoning has been selected for the Site-2A location between 30th, 31st, and 8th Avenue, New York. The combination of manufacturing M1-5 and commercial C6-3x zoning restrictions creates a unique opportunity for an innovative and creative building design incorporating multiple functions under one roof. Our team is excited to embrace these challenges and opportunities to develop a dynamic program that could include residential, retail, hotel, and manufacturing spaces. The use of as-of-right zoning enables us to create an extraordinary form that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. The Staerk Blok is a perfect example of how strategic zoning decisions can enhance design possibilities and ultimately create a successful and impactful building.

The building's overall volume was shaped by zoning regulations and setbacks, with a plinth space designed to encourage collaboration between the different parts of the structure. Bridges connect hotel spaces as separate buildings into one cohesive whole. Entrances are strategically located for easy access, with the primary entrance adjacent to 8th Avenue and retail spaces.

The Staerk Blok tower is a unique and exciting design for the world-renowned toy manufacturer LEGO, with a total area of 533,877 sq ft. Of that sq ft, 60,634 sq ft are considered part of the M1-5 zoning regulations of New York City; when adding the plaza sq ft within this category, the total sq ft end up being 363,804 sq ft. On the other hand, the entire lot area for the C6-3X zoning regulations is 18,897 sq ft. Such categories of the as-of-right zoning regulations apply to commercial, residential, and retail spaces. Therefore, the Staerk Blok tower successfully tackled the zoning regulations required by the city and, in doing so, promoted the efficient use of all the spaces needed for a mix use building.