R.A.M.P. | David Heaton, Hanna Ihrke

Located in the Allentown district of Buffalo, NY, Project R.A.M.P. [Residential Accessible Market Place] addresses the residential and commercial needs of the area through the creation of a live/work community. The Allentown region heavily promotes an active street life through locally owned shops, bars, and other small venues. The area supports local business entrepreneurs. However, Allentown lacks healthy food options that are within walking distance of the large residential population.
R.AM.P. addresses the need for healthy food options and promotes the local economy by providing a healthy, locally grown foods market that also serves as a location for residential units; each having its own space to launch a small business.

In order to provide a fully accessible market with each residential unit having a storefront, a 1:20 accessible ramp is used to bridge the threshold of the public walkway into the business and residential space. The project allows for the public market experience to co-exist with housing while maintaining privacy for residential units. The result is a curvilinear arcade-like pathway that gently carves out dynamic spaces of varying heights and areas that accommodates multiple scales of local businesses.