Project Overview
Over 40 million people visit or pass through Times Square each year. For one of most iconic public spaces in the world, Snøhetta's design for the new permanent pedestrian spaces had to understand the magnitude of these crowds and the patterns of movement and human behavior.
Project Commissioner
NYC Dept of Transportation & NYC Dept of Design and Construction
Project Creator
Project Brief
In 2010, the New York City Department of Design and Construction and the New York City Department of Transportation selected Snøhetta to lead the design of the new public spaces in Times Square. While the site has long been an icon for entertainment, culture and urban life, the physical and operational conditions of the streets, sidewalks and sub-surface infrastructure such as sewers, have deteriorated over time, detracting from the functionality and safety of this critical crossroads.
Project Innovation/Need
The project site, known as the “Bowtie”, forms the heart of the Times Square theater district, and is bounded by Broadway and 7th Avenue between 42nd and 47th streets. Snøhetta's design is inspired by Times Square’s past and its rich entertainment history – a duality that influenced both the larger concept and the project’s details. The proposal creates an integrated and iconic multi-functional public space that reflects the best of Times Square and New York City.
Times Square's signature buildings and spectacular signs - the glowing walls of the Bowtie - create an outdoor room right in the heart of Manhattan. Snohetta’s design creates uncluttered pedestrian zones and a cohesive surface from building front to building front that reinforces the Bowtie's role as an outdoor stage. This clear and simple ground surface made of pre-cast concrete pavers creates a strong anchor for the space, allowing the excitement of Times Square's commercial components to shine more brightly above.
Design Challenge
The area's new two-toned custom pavers are embedded with nickel-sized steel discs that will capture the neon glow from the signs above and playfully scatter it across the paving surface. In addition to simplifying the ground surface by consolidating both moveable and permanent sidewalk and street elements, Snøhetta's redesign also addresses practical issues such as drainage and maintenance and programmatic flexibility.
Urban Design
This award celebrates creativity and innovation in the process of designing and shaping cities, towns and villages, and is about making connections between people and places, movement and urban form, nature and the built fabric. Consideration given to giving form, shape and character to groups of buildings, streets and public spaces, transport systems, services and amenities, whole neighbourhoods and districts, and entire cities, to make urban areas functional, attractive and sustainable.
More Details