Projects
Van Alen Report 19: America’s Infrastructure
For the first Van Alen Report in twelve years, we examine the dire condition of America’s infrastructure. Experts from various disciplines participate in a sweeping exploration of how leaders may repair the nation’s infrastructure in ways that support better and more just outcomes for all.
Opportunity Space Festival
More than a million refugees and migrants entered Europe in 2015, highlighting one of the toughest challenges that cities around the world will face for decades to come: In an era of great uncertainty, how and where can people find opportunity?
To The Streets 
To the Streets is a fast-paced one-day design competition that asks multidisciplinary teams how a distributed network of assembly spaces could be designed for the streets of New York City’s five boroughs.
Flatiron Sky-Line
November 21, 2016–January 1, 2017
For the third year, Van Alen Institute and the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership called for proposals for the annual Flatiron Public Plaza Holiday Design Competition. The winning proposal, Flatiron Sky-Line by LOT was installed during the 2016 holiday season. The project aimed to design and build a highly visible temporary landmark at the heart of the Flatiron District that is the centerpiece of the Partnership’s annual holiday programming.
ManhattanFor the third year, Van Alen Institute and the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership called for proposals for the annual Flatiron Public Plaza Holiday Design Competition. The winning proposal, Flatiron Sky-Line by LOT was installed during the 2016 holiday season. The project aimed to design and build a highly visible temporary landmark at the heart of the Flatiron District that is the centerpiece of the Partnership’s annual holiday programming.
Shore to Core
Shore to Core asks: How can we recreate an urban core so its design is intelligent, flexible, and responsive to the needs of residents and visitors?
Memorials for the Future
The National Park Service (NPS), the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), and Van Alen Institute collaborated on Memorials for the Future, an ideas competition to reimagine how we think about, feel, and experience memorials.
Nova
November 18, 2015–January 1, 2016
SOFTlab’s winning proposal, Nova, was unveiled on November 18th, 2015 as the centerpiece of the Partnership’s annual holiday programming and a highly visible landmark in this thriving neighborhood of New York.
ManhattanSOFTlab’s winning proposal, Nova, was unveiled on November 18th, 2015 as the centerpiece of the Partnership’s annual holiday programming and a highly visible landmark in this thriving neighborhood of New York.
New York Light
November 15, 2014–January 1, 2015
Van Alen Institute and the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership called for proposals for a temporary installation at the Flatiron Public Plaza that was installed during the 2014 holiday season. The project aimed to design and build a highly visible landmark at the heart of the Flatiron District for the duration of its installation.
ManhattanVan Alen Institute and the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership called for proposals for a temporary installation at the Flatiron Public Plaza that was installed during the 2014 holiday season. The project aimed to design and build a highly visible landmark at the heart of the Flatiron District for the duration of its installation.
Future Ground
Future Ground was a design competition that invited multidisciplinary teams to generate flexible design and policy strategies to reuse vacant land in New Orleans, transforming abandoned landscapes into resources for the current and future city.
National Parks Now
National Parks Now was a competition inviting multidisciplinary teams of young professionals to develop strategies for reshaping the national parks visitor experience.