Housing is a human right. What does it take socially, economically, and architecturally to make this statement a reality? Housing in Harlem needs to be re-envisioned, where economic accessibility affords stability. Our vision for housing after property critically examines mass privatization through critique of Abyssinian Development Corporation’s real estate practices, condemns real estate speculation, and advocates for the de-commodification of housing through decentralized communal ownership.
The Renaissance Ballroom was a site of black leisure and culture that operated in Harlem for 50 years before it fell into a state of disrepair. Despite community outrage, the Renaissance Ballroom was demolished and replaced with The Rennie Luxury Condos, which is our site of intervention.
The existing floor plan of the Rennie is a double loaded corridor flanked by wet walls, resulting in a compartmentalized plan. We reject this individualistic plan by inverting the social relationship to the corridor to weave utilities like bathrooms and kitchens into a concentrated spine. This architectural shift dissolves private and public distinctions, liberates housing from the generic, and replaces it with specificity, social vibrancy, and the expressive messiness of domesticity. To achieve permanence in Harlem, we must address affordability to combat the reality of gentrification and displacement.
