AIANY ENYA reveals winning ideas for QueensWay Connection competition

Plans for building a new QueensWay are moving forward. The AIANY Emerging New York Architects (ENYA) Committee revealed the winners of QueensWay Connection: Elevating the Public Realm. The biennial competition brought in ideas from around the globe on how to transform an abandoned railway into an urban greenway as a community space for nearby neighborhoods in Queens, New York.

Students and young professionals from all disciplines contributed their ideas for a vertical gateway to renew a 3.5-mile elevated viaduct of the railway.

Out of 120 proposals from 28 countries, the jury selected the following winners:

• ENYA Prize, US$5,000: The Queensway Steps by Carrie Wilbert (Paris, France)
• 2nd Prize, US$2,500: Queens Billboard by Nikolay Martynov (Basel, Switzerland)
• 3rd Prize, US$1,000: Make It! Grow It! by Song Deng and René Biberstein (Toronto, Canada)
• Student Prize, US$1000:  EBB & Flow by Jessica Shoemaker (Albuquerque, NM, USA)
• Honorable Mention:  Upside Down Bridge by Hyuntek Yoon (Queens, NY, USA)

Check out the winning proposal below.

First prize: The Queensway Steps by Carrie Wilbert (Paris, France)

Second prize: Queens Billboard by Nikolay Martynov (Basel, Switzerland)

Third prize: Make It! Grow It! by Song Deng and René Biberstein (Toronto, Canada)

Student Prize: EBB & Flow by Jessica Shoemaker (Albuquerque, NM, USA)

Honorable Mention: Upside Down Bridge by Hyuntek Yoon (Queens, NY, USA)

Jury members:

• Claire Weisz, FAIA, Co-founding Partner at WXY, part of the QueensWay feasibility study team 
• Lisa Switkin, Associate Partner and Managing Director at James Corner Field Operations 
• Matthew Johnson, Senior Associate at Diller Scofidio + Renfro, project manager of the Highline project
• Margaret Newman, FAIA, LEED AP, Chief of Staff to the Commissioner, NYC Department of Transportation  
• Ting Chin, Co-founder of Linearscape, winners of the 2012 ENYA prize  
• Susan Chin, FAIA, Executive Director of the Design Trust for Public Space  
• Frank Lupo, FAIA, Steering Committee Member of Friends of the QueensWay
• Andy Stone, New York City Director of The Trust for Public Land

All winning proposals and a selection of other entries will be exhibited at a July 17 opening party at the Center for Architecture in New York. Discussion panels will also be included in the event.

Images courtesy of the QueensWay Connection competition.

Click the thumbnails below for additional project images.