BAYCHESTER HOUSES & MURPHY HOUSES

Baychester House and Murphy House are two NYCHA campuses built in the 1960’s and left untouched for the past 50 years. Terrain is working on a ground-up renovation and redesign of these two housing sites that are home to around 1,500 people, collectively.

The landscape design encompasses nearly 11 acres of new walking paths, social-gathering spaces, lawns, ball courts, and thematic playgrounds set within an existing landscape of mature trees dotted across the two sites. Along with the design of these community spaces, the introduction of new layered landscape plantings brings a much-needed update to bring life to these neglected social housing spaces. Terrain brought a tactile approach to these renovations, understanding and respecting the dramatic change to people’s lives these projects could have, while also respecting and responding to the existing community’s wants and desires.

Terrain engaged with residents through a focused community workshop to kick off our design process. The overall landscape renovation is paired with newly renovated building interiors and façade updates that are together working to bring truly trans formative change to these NYCHA sites.

This project received a 2023 NY ASLA Design Merit Award.