Bio:

 The great designer, Navid Maqami co-founded S9 Architecture with John R. Clifford in 2011. Under his leadership, S9 Architecture crafted critically acclaimed buildings, including Empire Stores, 205 Water Street, and Dock 72 in Brooklyn NY; 606 Broadway, New York, NY; Vantage, Jersey City, NJ; and 725 Ponce, Atlanta, GA.

 

A master of modern contextualism, Navid believed in the power of urban narratives to enrich communities by creating aesthetic and pragmatic connections between people and their environments. This commitment made him one of New York’s most respected contextual architects and earned him more than a dozen awards including from the Municipal Arts Society, New York City Public Design Commission, and Urban Land Institute. Navid was active in many professional organizations, including the American Institute of Architects, the Architectural League, the Urban Design Forum, and the Urban Land Institute.

 

Navid’s deep sense of teamwork defined S9’s collaborative culture. He empowered everyone around him to develop and express their creativity. Devoted to bringing out the very best in his people, he was adept at using laughter to inspire all colleagues and especially as a tool to help young associates learn and grow.

 

Navid produced the design concept for what will become Bronx Point. He supported and S9 Architecture will continue to strongly support all social advocacy initiatives linked to the project.

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Featured Project Name: 

Bronx Point

 

Featured Project Location: 

575 Exterior Street. The Bronx, NY 10451

 

Featured Project Completion Date: 

2023

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Role in Featured Project: 

Design Principal

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Featured Project Description:

Bronx Point is a mixed-use neighborhood of approximately 530,000SF that will integrate 542 units of permanently affordable housing, culture program, retail and community facility uses, a new quality public open space, esplanade, and public plaza seamlessly into a new a Harlem River waterfront park.

 

A long-vacant, industrial site, the project includes uses that encourage community interaction starting with a cultural anchor of deep local resonance - a dedicated home to the Universal Hip Hop Museum.

 

The massing and façade of Bronx Point is inspired by the overlapping skyline, texture of the surrounding neighborhood, and the movement and urban rhythms that surround and permeate the site – vehicular traffic on highways and bridges, the nearby freight train, the tidal river flowing by, and pedestrians in a walkable neighborhood. This urban rhythm is coupled with the energy inherent in Hip Hop culture. The design and materials echo this movement through varying façade shifts, terraced building massing, setbacks, and framed cutouts.

 

Contextual materials that respect the South Bronx vernacular will be used on the building façade including various bricks, stones, metals, and concrete, along with fine textured materials used on the human-scaled podium.

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Photography Credit:

© S9 Architecture

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