RAIL is a research team of six architects focused on the transformation of an existing freight line that extends from the NYC Harbor, across South Brooklyn into Queens and The Bronx. The team was formed as part of a research initiative at Think! Architecture and Design in collaboration with Studio aVek.
Brendan O'Shea / THE LAWN
Marta Rodrigues / IN SIGHT
Olivia Tarro / URBANeSCAPE
Don Flagg / RAIL CITY
Enzo Cordova / COOPERATIVE COMMONS
Ernesto Vela / CIVIC STRANDS
PROPOSITION
Our project is an experiment in generating a creative discussion through interventions in the diverse neighborhoods along this vital resource. They converge on timeless issues confronting the city: transience, resilience, productive cities, equitable development, public space and cultural identities.
The different experiments represent our instinct, as architects and residents, to engage the different identities the railroad can acquire and to integrate them with its diverse urban reality and community. As architects and urban designers we aim to push the limits of existing conditions, to innovate and renovate the urban scenario in the anthropogenic era. RAIL reflects on the excesses of urban development, the promotion of conscious and sustainable design but, most importantly, everyday routines and necessities. Each proposal is idealized under the sensitive balance of our own condition as neighbors and professionals. RAIL intentionally avoids an immediate singular vision applied to the entirety of the line; instead we choose a heterogeneous dialogue initiated by the different inventions, freely expanding on the possibilities and dichotomies that exist among different urban actors. Through time, especially at the cusp of inevitable environmental change, this dialogue will contribute to the reinvention of society and culture.
Brendan O'Shea is an architectural designer at Think! Architecture and Design with the role of documenting several affordable and supportive housing projects within the New York City area. Brendan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from Pratt Institute, where he has been an assistant professor in the Pre-college Architecture program since 2011. Brendan has also worked closely with community board groups within Brooklyn, NY to conduct solar impact studies on proposed buildings that have negative impacts on the quality of historic districts and open park space. Brendan’s work is predicated on the belief of thoughtful design for the betterment of communities and the populations that reside in them.
Marta Rodrigues is a Portuguese architect based in New York. Following her passion for architecture, she took a Master’s Degree in Architecture at Universidade do Minho (Portugal). In 2010 she was awarded an Erasmus Scholarship to study one year at Universita degli Studi diRoma Tre – Dipartimento di Architettura (Italy). After concluding her masters, she worked in Portugal developing residential projects and participating in international competitions. During this period Marta was awarded an honorable mention in the Denver Micro Housing International Competition. In the same year she moved to New York and collaborated with NO Architecture in several international competitions. In 2014 she was awarded an International award at LAMP Design Competition and exhibited her MOT Lamp in Vancouver, Canada. Marta is currently working at Think! Architecture and Design developing institutional projects.
Olivia Tarro’s creative career began as a student at Pratt Institute in 2012, where she graduated with a Bachelors in Architecture and a minor in Interior Design. In her time in school, her exposure to many different styles of physical production, graphic representation, and creative synthesis allowed an ability to grow an interest in many different areas of design development. Her work ranges from furniture design and production, interior and exterior installation infrastructures, to large scale architectural construction and urban planning. As her professional career evolves, she continues to add to her aesthetic. She has taken part in a wide range of events and competitions, most notably a finalist for the Beyond the Centerline Park Avenue Competition with “Median Frequency” in 2017. She currently holds a position as a Junior Architect at Think! Architecture and Design PLLC.
Don Flagg has played a major role in some of New York’s most significant projects, including the restoration of Grand Central Terminal and the design and construction of the New York Police Academy, a $2.2B state-of- the-art training facility. With over thirty years of experience, Don has expertise in master planning, historic preservation, interior planning and construction. He is also committed to creating architecture that creatively responds to the users’ needs and intelligently engages its architectural context. Don received a B.A. from Cornell University, a B.F.A. and B.Arch. from RISD, and pursued graduate studies at Harvard Graduate School of Design. Don is currently a Studio Director at Think! Architecture and Design, leading numerous affordable housing projects.
Enzo Cordova is a Chilean architect based in New York City. He received his Bachelor’s Degree at Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo from Universidad de Chile in Santiago, Chile. Enzo participated in architecture competitions held by Architecture for Humanity (1st Place), eVolo, and NG for their headquarters (2nd Place). He has worked on education projects for Crisosto Smith Arquitectos, and on material and structural testing at Idiem, Universidad de Chile. In 2017 Enzo received a Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design degree from Pratt Institute, and is currently working at LS3P Associates LTD. in Charleston, SC.
Ernesto Vela is a principal at Think! Architecture and Design. He helps lead the practice through a collaborative process focused on civic design and sustainability with a clear commitment to a social sense of community for all projects. In 2017 he established Studio aVeK, a small workshop studio within the artist community in Long Island City, as a parallel endeavor to an architectural practice in order to have a wider research spectrum that also encompasses painting and the arts. He is an adjunct professor at the School of Public Architecture, Kean University in Union, NJ. He has worked in New York City for the past 20 years on planning, civic, cultural, educational and residential projects. Ernesto holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Manitoba and a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University. He is a registered architect in the State of New York and is a member of the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter. He studied in Rome as part of Cornell University’s architectural program. He received a research fellowship from Cornell University to study the gardens of Roberto Burle-Marx in Brazil.