New York State Chapter of American Institute of Architects Recognizes LTL Architects for its Transit-Oriented Design for Westbury, Long Island
(Long Island, NY) The New York State chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has honoredLTL Architects, based in New York City, with a Citation for Urban Planning/Design for the firm’s Train Terraces design for the Village of Westbury on Long Island. The Citation was announced as part of the AIA New York State Design Awards, which recognize outstanding works of design by architects based in New York State.
The design emerged from the Long Island Index’s ParkingPLUS Design Challenge, which conducted a national search for architects to contribute transformative thinking about parking structures in suburban downtowns. The Challenge paired each of four selected firms with a participating Long Island community to envision the potential of a particular transit-oriented site. LTL Architects was paired with the Village of Westbury.
The ParkingPLUS Design Challenge revealed new concepts of parking design that incorporate needed local amenities and make parking facilities an architectural attraction for downtown areas. Over an intense six-week design period, the architects were challenged to explore the premise that good design of public facilities – in this case “boring” parking garages – can be economically, environmentally and socially transformative to their settings. They were also asked to envision “PLUSes” – additional uses that would enliven these structures, provide amenities for their respective locations and suggest potential financing strategies for maintenance and operation of parking.
In its Train Terraces design, LTL Architects proposed, on two lots flanking the elevated train station platform, urban incubators for sustainable architecture in the form of elegantly designed, mixed-use, infill projects with multiple terraces that bridge over, under and along the tracks, continuing their award-winning design investigations into “new suburbanism.”
“We’re very pleased that the New York State AIA chapter has honored LTL Architects for its ParkingPLUS design,” said Nancy Rauch Douzinas, President of the Rauch Foundation, publisher of the Long Island Index. “We hope that this recognition will inspire further creative thinking around parking garages and the extraordinary opportunity that they offer to provide community amenities and compelling design in addition to their fundamental purpose.”
“LTL Architects did a superb – and now award-winning – job of envisioning and illuminating the remarkable potential of the Westbury site,” said Ann Golob, Director of the Long Island Index. “Their design continues to spark discussion and to enliven the possibilities for parking garages of the future.”
The ParkingPLUS Design Challenge was coordinated by consultants June Williamson – Associate Professor of Architecture at The City College of New York/CUNY, author of Designing Suburban Futures and co-author of Retrofitting Suburbia –and Kaja Kühl, Adjunct Associate Professor of Urban Design at Columbia University and principal of youarethecity.
About the Rauch Foundation
The Rauch Foundation (www.rauchfoundation.org) is a Long Island-based family foundation that invests in ideas and organizations that spark and sustain early success in children and systemic change in our communities. The Foundation was established in 1961 by Louis Rauch and Philip Rauch, Jr. Funding for the Foundation was made possible by the success of the Ideal Corporation, an auto parts manufacturer founded in 1913 by their father, Philip Rauch, Sr.
About the Long Island Index
Now in its 12th year, the Long Island Index is a source of unbiased reliable data for businesses, nonprofits, civic organizations, educators, and townships throughout the region. Funded by the Rauch Foundation, its overarching goals are to measure where we are and show trends over time, encourage regional thinking, compare Long Island’s situation with those in similar regions, increase awareness of issues and their interrelatedness, and inspire Long Islanders to work together to achieve shared goals. The Long Island Index is available for download at www.longislandindex.org; its interactive maps – an online resource with detailed demographic, residential, transportation and educational information – as well as the Build a Better Burb website are also accessible from the Index’s website.
