In our design of the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, we honoured the context of the historic neighbourhood (Amsterdam Avenue at 76^th Street) while opening up to the street. The architectural design was conceived as a beacon of light reaching out to the surrounding community, with a high degree of transparency between interior activities and the adjacent street. The glass façade of the lower floors engages the street; during the day, pedestrians view the interior activities, and at night the public spaces cast a welcoming glow. Over one hundred representatives of over fifteen community interest groups were interviewed to help shape the project, which serves users ranging in socio-economic background.

The JCC elegantly accommodates a vast array of activities and uses spread over 13 above-grade floors. Due to the constrictions of the JCC’s urban site, the program was organized vertically, with related types of uses – recreation, library, café, visual arts gallery, nursery school, religious study and performance – grouped and interconnected together throughout the building.

As intended, the JCC has become a central “living room” or social hub for the highly diverse neighbourhood community, with its dramatic, and highly visible, entry hall serving as a meeting and gathering place for area residents. It has also rationalized the complex program of the client into a legible, cohesive, highly attractive whole that is a landmark on the Upper West Side.