Hudson gate is a reimagined master planning of the Hudson Yards in 2040. It serves as the frontier of the Hudson Commercial District, a major transportation hub for the Midtown Manhattan Region, and the end point of the NYC – DC Hyperloop transportation.

With the new Hyperloop commuters are able travel between DC and NYC in 30 mintues, and hence the transportation system is being compared as the the nerve fibre between the two cities, as it bears enormous political and economical significance. As a designer we make sure the entire Manhattan region sees its significance, visually. A nerve fibre connects between two neurons, and transmits signals to other cells. When a capsule departs from its terminal and enters the transportation tube, metaphorically it is the electrical signal being sent down the nerve fibre to the other neuron, which is DC. To visually capture this, at night a segment of the transportation tube will glow when a capsule is passing through, and this glow will follow the capsule down the tube as if it is an electrical signal being sent.

Despite of its economical significance, the Hudson Gate also bears significance in tackling the increasing hurricane activity and intensity caused by global warming. The Hudson Gate and its transportation both features an exo-skeleton like structure to hold and reinforce the weight. Due to advancement in material technology, this exo-skeleton structure is made with a synthetic material that exhibits properties such as high flexibility, very light weight, and twice of the steel’s bearing strength. This allows architecture in 2040 to grow larger in size and pushing the upper limit of overloading to a new high. With its sheer size, the terminal is able to withstand extreme weather conditions and remain in service under circumstances like hurricanes and snowstorms.

Finally I hope everyone gets to take something from this competition, or even better took the freedom to approach archviz from a different perspective. With all the tutorials and courses you’ve been watching during the lock-down, and with the freedom offered by this competition, now is the best time to experiment with new ideas and perhaps opening up new areas for explorations. Thank you again Tomorrow and Ronen for hosting this competition, it’s a pleasure to be part of it.

Warm regards,

Tony