All's Well That Ends Well

Program:

Soldiers who come back home and have a significant amount of trouble readjusting back into civilian life, especially those who suffer from PTSD (formerly known as Shell-Shock). These soldiers are placed in numerous therapeutic treatment institutions (out patient / in patient) that help them deal with their trauma using various methods such as Art Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Critical Mass is a bike ride and a movement, not an organization, and no two riders participate for exactly the same reason. But, they do ride (protest) for specific reasons from time to time: They rode against the Republican National Convention, and against the war in Iraq, for example. Critical Mass voice their opinions through non-violent means by simply riding their bicycles.
The function of this building will be to not only provide treatment for soldiers who suffer from PTSD, but also, to repair and maintain bicycles for Critical Mass. The soldiers, Critical Mass, and the bicycles will develop somewhat of a symbiotic relationship. The soldiers will come to rely on the bicycles for therapeutic reasons: The bicycles that are being repaired are also serving to repair the soldiers who are repairing them. This is not unlike Art Therapy wherein therapists conduct sessions with their patients as the patients create artwork. This method has been proven to help patients, who are otherwise resistant to therapy, become more open and honest about what they are feeling and thinking, making it easier for therapists to have a meaningful and productive dialogue with them. The repairing of the bicycles will have these same benefits and results.
The repaired bicycles will then be used by those who don’t have bicycles to participate in protests. These protests are the voice for these forgotten casualties of war. This building will give the soldiers a renewed sense of empowerment by giving them the feeling that they are, at some level, fighting the policies that put them there. The bicycles repair the soldiers who repair the bicycles that are used as extensions of the soldiers in order to ride for change.

Site:

Thomas Paine Park located in downtown Manhattan where Lafayette Street (Federal Plaza) and Centre St. (Foley Square) join at Duane Street. I chose this site because of its strategic location between: It is situated between the U.S. Courthouse, The Jacob K. Javits Federal Building, and the Supreme Court. This site becomes the fulcrum for change and stands in direct opposition of the institutions and agencies whose foreign policies have such dramatic consequences on those who serve in our military. The building, and its occupants, are there to serve as a reminder to not only those who implement these faulty policies but also to the passers-by, that we are all either directly or in-directly responsible for what has happened to them.