Bloque Popular re-imagines Manhattan Block 446 as a nexus for collective living, cultural preservation, and rising popular movements. The site occupies a liminal space between several historic neighborhoods, each with its own specific cultural and political legacy. The loose borders of the Puerto Rican center of lower Manhattan—Loisaida, the historic immigrant stronghold of Stuytown, the Ukrainian Village, and the expanding sprawl of New York University all meet around Block 446, making it both a nexus of cultural exchange and a site of contention. In addition, the NYPD 9th Precinct is directly across the street from the site, a center of surveillance and policing largely responsible for crushing popular movements in the neighborhood throughout the 1960s-90s.

Bloque Popular simultaneously addresses both the political legacy of the neighborhood’s community and its disruption by policing and the carceral system. The mission of the historic Loisaida organization CHARAS provided the core concept for our design, combining living spaces with centers for cultural production, gathering spaces, education, and community activism.

Malleable terraces and wide corridors serve as communal living rooms, while an integrated makerspace, cultural center, and mass auditorium provide residents and community members with the resources to form social bonds, political associations, and neighborhood organizations that historically helped build and defend Loisaida as a political and cultural power in New York City. In addition, the lobby of the cultural center and primary entrance to the subterranean auditorium are housed below an imposing red concrete facade, mirroring the exact dimensions and window placements of the 9th Precinct across the street.