ONE CHASE MANHA TTAN PLAZA
site visit
research
future
who? when? why?
The site of 28 Liberty Street, originally a church, has been occupied by
numerous businesses and corporations over its more than 250-year
history. In the late 20th century, Chase National Bank occupied the
site, and the plaza was encouraged by the 1961 Zoning Law, which allowed
developers to trade a bonus of two square feet of extra floor space for
every square foot of plaza. The One Chase Manhattan Plaza was eventually
completed in 1964, creating an environment that was completely unique to
the Financial District. When we first visited the site of One Chase
Manhattan Plaza in Downtown Manhattan, we were surprised by how the
Plaza stands in contrast to the surrounding Financial District. The
grid-like structure of FiDi and its sea of skyscrapers leaves anyone
walking down its streets feeling claustrophobic and overwhelmed. This
isn’t surprising considering that the neighborhood was designed for
primarily men in suits practically running to their office jobs, most
likely with a coffee in hand. Go-go-go. The plaza, therefore, creates a
nice break away from the strictly grid-like structure of the surrounding
business area, with fluid and spherical forms, plants, and contemporary
art by Dubuffet and Noguchi. But it is hard to ignore the present
history of the plaza, specifically its connection to the “Occupy Wall
Street” Movement. In 2011, Chase placed a temporary barricade around the
site, blocking it off to the majority of the inhabitants of the area and
further feeding the economic inequalities that the movement was fighting
against. The barricade was only removed in 2013. The two-year-long
presence of the barricade is as indicative of the corporate ambiance of
the site as the international style in which it was built. The
architecture of this style is usually very strict and formulaic, and
despite the airiness of the plaza, it does not seem to be “made for
people”, outside of the exclusive financial industry. In imagining the
future of One Chase Manhattan Plaza, we hope that the financial world
that it represents becomes a more open and equitable environment. We
hope that both the physical and metaphorical barricades will vanish,
enabling people to not only enjoy the plaza, but also to truly become a
part of the bustling Financial District. Although the plaza offers a
refuge for anyone, the surrounding buildings and constructions are
exclusive to certain demographics – exemplifying the strict divide that
exists between the people working in the buildings and those enjoying
the outdoor spaces. Going off the Occupy Wall Street movement, this
divide should be minimized. The outdoor plaza already strives to
distinguish itself from the grid of FiDi, but it should further become a
haven by expanding further into the streets and by incorporating more
greenery. It should also expand into the social life of New York by
hosting free events and performances with the participation of both
FiDi-locals and “outsiders” in the very center of what is now a very
restricted area, hence destroying the strict societal grid. The world of
finance is one that all of us are participating in, directly or
indirectly, and its epicenter should therefore be one that allows for
the interaction between all of its different actors. We would also like
to imagine a much later future, where FiDi is no longer FiD. Though we
lack practical economic knowledge, we would still like to propose a
completely new type of economy. In the future of this site, people will
come to One Chase Manhattan Plaza to get their ‘passports’. These
passports will be made out of coffee in hommage to the site’s past as a
business hub. But they will not be the documents that we presently
understand them to be. Instead, these future passports will be a
re-interpretation of the modern dollar bill in the sense that people
will be able to use them as a form of payment. Everyone will be able to
get this ‘passport’ bi-annually at this site, which would now become the
Ministry of Affairs, which would help minimize economic inequality and
inequity. In addition, to further improve inclusivity at the site, there
would be a kids waiting area to keep the little ones engaged and of
course, a free coffee bar for everyone to enjoy.