Solution 1: Hang the Furniture From the Ceiling.
Architects: Solid Objectives– Idenburg Liu

Remove the ugly, unnecessary dropped ceiling tiles, and you get a grid system that the architects at SO-IL suggest could be used to run electric cables and hang furniture. “We can imagine developing a whole new system of pop-in units that can fit the two-feet-by-two-feet module,” says partner Florian Idenburg.

Solution 2: Turn Each Floor Into a City Block.
Designers: Slade Architecture

“Many office buildings are virtually impossible to develop into housing,” says James Slade of Slade Architecture, “because large floor plates can’t comply with code requirements for natural ventilation in bedrooms.” His firm proposes demolishing sections of the building façade and turning the perimeter of each floor into landscaped outdoor lawns.

Solution 3: Put the Baby in the Bottom Drawer.
Designers: Double Triple

When living in Austin, Texas, soon after the late-eighties real-estate bust, designer Phillip Niemeyer heard talk of “legal squatters” and musicians taking space in empty office parks. Here his firm Double Triple proposes repurposing the modular cubicle walls to create temporary spaces— like a baby’s room—using Post-it Note découpage as wallpaper, and making an office beanbag stuffed with shredded documents.

Solution 4: Cook in the Men’s Room.
Architects: Rux

Gendered bathrooms are redundant, but a well-scrubbed men’s room could be converted into a kitchen. “Bathrooms have all the necessary water connections, are vented to eliminate cooking odors, and are tiled for easy cleanup,” says Russell Greenberg, founder of the design firm RUX. He made countertops out of stall dividers, set up an electric burner, and hung the Greenmarket fruits from the dropped ceiling. The urinal functions as an herb garden, and is watered with a flush.

Photo: Chris Mottalini/Courtesy of Rux

Solution 5: Just Move Right In.
Designers: Omnivore

The design firm Omnivore found nothing wrong with office living. Conference tables can host a twelve-person dinner party, and office plants are typically indestructible. “My friends and I have joked about making our homes a little like an office,” says partner Karen Hsu, “because often that furniture is just cheaper.”

Alvaro Francisco Olsen (left) West 36th Street and Broadway. On April 16, 2008, Olsen, an El Salvadoran immigrant living in Jackson Heights, was killed by a DHL truck.

Flaco East 153rd Street and Melrose Avenue, the Bronx. On May 18, 2007, a thief known as Flaco stole a fourteen-karat-gold cross from a jewelry store on Elton Avenue. He was struck by a city bus as he fled. The necklace was never recovered.

Unknown (left) Utica Avenue and Fulton Street, Bed-Stuy. On October 18, 2007, an unidentified 25-year-old was killed by a speeding van. The driver pled guilty to criminally negligent homicide.

Andrew Ross Morgan Houston and Elizabeth Streets. On June 22, 2005, Morgan was biking to Blue Ribbon Bakery Market, where he worked as a manager, when he was pinned under the axle of a furniture delivery truck.

Jerome Allen (left) Hylan Boulevard and Lipsett Avenue, Staten Island. On April 26, 2005, during a daily sunset ride near his home, Allen was struck from behind by a Lexus SUV. He was a member of the Staten Island Bicycle Association.

Eric Ng West Side Highway and Clarkson Street. On December 1, 2006, Ng was struck by a BMW on the Hudson River Park bikeway. According to police, the driver reached 60 mph.

Carl Henry Nacht (left) West Side Highway and 38th Street. After dinner on June 22, 2006, Nacht, a doctor who often cycled to make house calls to his elderly patients, was hit by an NYPD tow truck crossing the Hudson River Park bikeway.

Shamar Porter Linden Boulevard near Williams Avenue, East New York. On August 5, 2006, Porter’s Little League team won its playoff game. He was struck by a minivan after leaving the field.

Reginald Chan (left) Third Avenue and 17th Street. On September 15, 2006, Chan was hit by a flatbed tow truck while making a delivery of Chinese food.

Brandie Bailey Houston and Essex Streets. On May 8, 2005, Bailey was struck by a private sanitation truck while on her way home to Williamsburg after waitressing at the West Village restaurant Red Bamboo. Bailey was a regular at CBGB, where a memorial was held in her honor.

Craig Murphey (left) Ten Eyck Street and Union Avenue, Williamsburg. Early in the morning of October 18, 2007, Murphey was biking home from escorting his date to her South Williamsburg apartment. According to police reports, Murphey attempted to outrun a gas truck turning left on Ten Eyck Street. His pelvis shattered on impact, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. In his honor, over 40 friends have since received tattoos that read BE BETTER.

Frank C. Simpson Linden Boulevard near 175th Street, St. Albans. Simpson, a janitor returning from the evening shift at a Con Edison facility, was hit by a Dodge Stratus on November 9, 2006.

Jose Mora (left) North Conduit and McKinley Avenues, Cypress Hills. On September 4, 2006, 11-year-old Mora was on his way to the barber for a back-to-school haircut; that week, he was to start the sixth grade at nearby Junior High School 302. He was struck by a Honda while walking his bike across an intersection.

Jonathan Neese South 4th Street and Roebling Street, Williamsburg. On August 12, 2006, Neese, a bike messenger known as “Bronx Jon,” was struck by a livery cab while cycling from Brooklyn to Manhattan.

Sam Khaled Hindy (left) Base of the Manhattan Bridge. On November 16, 2007, Hindy was run over after mistakenly entering a Manhattan Bridge lane reserved for cars.

Habian Rodriguez Main Street and Horace Harding Expressway, Flushing. On September 1, 2007, Rodriguez collided with a city bus and died 30 minutes later.

Elizabeth Padilla (left) Fifth Avenue and Prospect Place, Park Slope. Commuting to the Brooklyn Bar Association on June 9, 2005, Padilla swerved to avoid the open door of a parked P.C. Richard’s truck. She lost control of her bike and fell underneath the wheels of an ice-cream delivery truck.

Juan Luis Solis East Gun Hill Road and Bouck Avenue, the Bronx. Attempting to pass a double-parked car on June 22, 2007, Solis was struck by a box truck and died of severe head trauma. The truck did not stop.

Jeffrey Moore (left) Chauncey Street and Rockaway Avenue, Bed-Stuy. According to witnesses, on May 29, 2007, Moore was run over (twice) by his girlfriend Jeanine Harrington. She was indicted on charges of murder and criminal possession of a weapon (her Nissan Pathfinder).

Derek Lake Houston Street and La Guardia Place. On June 26, 2006, Lake reportedly skidded on a steel construction plate and was crushed underneath the wheels of a passing truck.

Elijah Armand Wrancher (left) Springfield Boulevard and 130th Avenue, Springfield Gardens. On August 28, 2007, 12-year-old Wrancher attempted to ride his bicycle while holding onto a moving truck. He lost his grip and fell under the truck’s rear wheel.

David Smith Sixth Avenue and 36th Street. On December 5, 2007, Smith was biking up Sixth Avenue when the passenger-side door of a parked pickup truck opened unexpectedly. He was knocked into the path of an oncoming truck.

Anthony Delgado (left) Palmetto Street and Central Avenue, Bushwick. Shortly after midnight on April 29, 2007, 13-year-old Delgado borrowed a bike to head home from his friend’s baptism party. As he crossed the intersection, he was struck by an SUV.

Carolina Hernandez 57th Avenue and Junction Boulevard, Elmhurst. On August 16, 2007, Hernandez was riding to a mall when she was struck and killed by a Chevy truck. The driver pled guilty to driving with a suspended license.

Anthony Delgado (left) Palmetto Street and Central Avenue, Bushwick. Shortly after midnight on April 29, 2007, 13-year-old Delgado borrowed a bike to head home from his friend’s baptism party. As he crossed the intersection, he was struck by an SUV.

Carolina Hernandez 57th Avenue and Junction Boulevard, Elmhurst. On August 16, 2007, Hernandez was riding to a mall when she was struck and killed by a Chevy truck. The driver pled guilty to driving with a suspended license.

Anthony Delgado (left) Palmetto Street and Central Avenue, Bushwick. Shortly after midnight on April 29, 2007, 13-year-old Delgado borrowed a bike to head home from his friend’s baptism party. As he crossed the intersection, he was struck by an SUV.

Carolina Hernandez 57th Avenue and Junction Boulevard, Elmhurst. On August 16, 2007, Hernandez was riding to a mall when she was struck and killed by a Chevy truck. The driver pled guilty to driving with a suspended license.

Anthony Delgado (left) Palmetto Street and Central Avenue, Bushwick. Shortly after midnight on April 29, 2007, 13-year-old Delgado borrowed a bike to head home from his friend’s baptism party. As he crossed the intersection, he was struck by an SUV.

Carolina Hernandez 57th Avenue and Junction Boulevard, Elmhurst. On August 16, 2007, Hernandez was riding to a mall when she was struck and killed by a Chevy truck. The driver pled guilty to driving with a suspended license.

Fall Fashion Features

The Beefcake in the Backcourt

Big, fake, and fully able to outshine its surroundings.Big, fake, and fully able to outshine its surroundings.

The Beefcake in the Backcourt

Big, fake, and fully able to outshine its surroundings.Big, fake, and fully able to outshine its surroundings.

• Beefcake in the Backcourt
• Sometimes Apart Sometimes Together
• Beefcake in the Backcourt
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