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Public Works – Reclaiming Infrastructure

With Washington DC’s recent growth spurt, the residential and commercial city is expanding into areas previously used for industry and infrastructure. Inspired by this, Studio Twenty Seven has started a new research project, the first installment of which can be read by following the link below. In disciplines of architecture and urban planning, how we use the term infrastructure has changed. How we think of infrastructure, develop new infrastructures, and rethink and repurpose old ones will have implications for the future development of cities globally. Historically, Washington DC has been a testing ground and a model for new thinking on urban development. But it is fair to say that since the completion of the Metro system in the late ’70s, little in the way of urban innovation has come out of the nation’s capital. In our new research project – tentatively titled “Public Works” – we explore how infrastructure has lost its public prerogative in a city whose growth is driven largely by private development. Using several examples from the District, we will explore new ways of repurposing old infrastructure and rethinking current and future infrastructures.

Public Works freestanding intro