Cooper Union

Selected Undergraduate Design Studio Projects--Design II Spring 2014

Projects

Chimpanzee House in the West Village

Amilio Davlantis Lo

The project is a house for the Chimpanzees located on a West Village rooftop. The prominent element on the site is the water tower which becomes the project’s focal point, as a lookout tower to view the ape against the urban cityscape. The design of the roof/nest and the ground considers the site’s boundary and tower geometry, as well as parameters that would allow the inhabitation of humans and chimpanzees. The nest is an ambiguous barrier, which makes New York City to both interrupt and free the site.

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Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.
“My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”
From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.
Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.