BQE Facelift

BQE Facelift envisions strengthening the BQE triple cantilever through reinforcement rather than demolition — preserving the structure temporarily in order to avoid catastrophic failure. Rather than building a temporary roadway, as the city suggested, and demolishing the existing structure, we propose a direct and expressive intervention that maintains the existing structure while community groups collaborate, taking the time necessary in order to come up with a long term sustainable design solution.We propose a series of vertical, prefabricated concrete buttresses attached to each of the cantilever’s three projecting edges. These elements act as external supports, pressing upward and reintroducing compression into the existing structure. In doing so, they redirect a substantial portion of the downward load and stabilize the cantilever for decades to come. Additionally, the design introduces a network of pathways and stairs that weave through the buttress, creating a vertical link between Brooklyn Heights and Brooklyn Bridge Park below.