Urban Umbrella

In 2009, the City of New York launched an international competition to challenge architects and engineers to create a new standard for sidewalk scaffolding. This ubiquitous “project type” had not been revisited or redesigned in over 50 years despite spanning more than 1,000,000 linear feet (350 miles) and impacting the visual experience of neighborhoods. Sarrah Khan, together with architect Andrés Ulises Cortés, saw an opportunity to “create an environment that stimulated one to look upward and outward.” Khan is a founding principal at Agencie, a certified WMBE engineering firm specializing in aviation, infrastructure, civic, and residential projects. Her firm competed against 163 other entrants from 28 countries, with only a .006% chance of winning. The concept, “Urban Umbrella,” was selected by an esteemed jury comprising Amanda Burden, David M. Childs, Frank Sciame, and Ada Tolla, among others. The open, light-filled solution melds high-strength recycled steel and translucent polycarbonate into a shape that resembles an unfurling umbrella, which has been described as “a perfect combination of design elegance and construction safety.” A primary functional improvement involves the elimination of cross-bracing that visually obstructs street level businesses and building entrances. However, as high design typically costs more, Agencie was challenged to reduce the cost per linear foot to a target value which would enable the project to deploy across as many construction sites as possible. An exercise in visioning and entrepreneurship, architecture and engineering, Urban Umbrella has graced more than 300 construction sites (and counting) since its first prototype was unveiled in 2011. The project, which has morphed into an independent company operating in the U.S. and Canada, has been credited with vastly improving the pedestrian experience for millions of people by providing more air, light, and room to walk around and underneath the buildings that make up New York City’s famous skyline.