Facilitating the communal reorganization of Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market and its surrounding block, this project protects the local textile economy while providing spaces for vendor care and collaboration. The market’s activities are restructured into new social and commercial core units that allow for shared storage, tailoring and sewing areas, and collective studio space. The model creates opportunities for material exchange between vendors and with community members who visit. Infrastructural facilities, such as a kitchen and a central prayer space, are also integrated in the market.
Two vacant storefronts and two empty lots are repurposed for vendor care. Street vendors gain access to facilities for storing and repairing vending equipment. The vacant storefronts are reimagined as care spaces where vendors can eat and rest. This model is adaptable to other urban blocks, allowing for the gradual expansion of the market’s urban network. It can absorb any additional foreclosed retail spaces and unused lots before they are purchased by private developers.
