Over the course of the concept design, the BIG team held public workshops and + smaller stakeholder sessions, with more than , participants from the community and surrounding neighborhoods providing input. Taken together, the ESCR project builds physical, social, and economic resiliency, strengthening the City’s coastline while re-establishing public space, enabling outdoor gathering opportunities, and improving waterfront accessibility.

The vegetation and landscape at the Panda House closely mimic the pandas’ natural habitat with patches of bamboo scattered throughout. The pandas must be able to find both shade and sun, as well as water and foliage. By creating two forests – a dense, mist forest and a light green bamboo forest, Mao Sun and Xing Er have the opportunity and flexibility to explore both landscapes, according to season, temperature and preference.

The volumes of varying sizes and depths are stacked on top of each other from the largest at the base to the smallest towards the top. The stacking creates large outdoor terraces full of lush greenery and unprecedented views of the surrounding cityscape, extending life and social interaction outdoors. The modernist skyscraper and the contemporary interpretation of the pre-modern setback merge in a new hybrid and an exciting addition to the NYC skyline.

Running from January through August , Hot to Cold marked BIG&#;s first major North-American exhibition offering a behind-the-scenes look at BIG&#;s creative process and how the studio&#;s designs are shaped by  cultural and climatic contexts. More than architectural models, mock-ups and prototypes were suspended at the sec­ond-floor balconies of the museum&#;s historic Great Hall, turning the architecture of the National Building Museum into the architecture of the exhibition.

The project includes the restoration of the Daily Express Building grade II* listed building. The headquarters of the newspaper &#; once the epicenter of the newspaper industry and one of London’s finest Art Deco interiors &#; will for the first time in its history be given a stand-alone status. The project will provide inclusive public access to the original art deco lobby, as well as the exterior roof amenities that include views of the surrounding city.