‘reimagining brooklyn bridge’ competition winners propose glass walkways and urban forests
a source of pride for new yorkers and inspiration for visitors from across the world, the brooklyn bridge undergoes a close look with a competition titled ‘reimagining brooklyn bridge,’ with the winners finally announced. run by the van alen institute together with new york city council, the contest called for designers to re-think the iconic walkway to reclaim car lanes for pedestrians and cyclists, while centering sustainability, social equity, and improving well-being in new york city’s public spaces. the collection of entries saw a wide range of visions, both pragmatic and fantastical, including a clustered floating borough by daniel gillen along with a return back to the future by bjarke ingels group.
after a virtual design showdown run by van alen institute last month, two winners were selected. from the two categories, professional (ages 22 and up) and young adult (ages 21 and under), the two winners were chosen by a combination of public vote and scores from the competition’s interdisciplinary jury. the winning design of the professional category is brooklyn bridge forest proposed by a team led by pilot projects design collective. the winner of the young adult category is do look down, designed by shannon hui, kwans kim, and yujin kim. read more about each of the designs in the words of their creators below.