Eat Right, Sleep Tight

This project reimagines the hotel as a civic destination rather than a place reserved for tourists. Located at the intersection of Ocean Parkway and Surf Avenue on Coney Island, New York, the project occupies a neglected threshold between the neighborhood’s residential fabric and its tourist-oriented boardwalk. Once animated by informal vendors and gathering spaces “under the boardwalk,” this edge has gradually become fragmented by flooding, infrastructure, and back-of-house uses.



The project uses food as a social and cultural catalyst to reconnect the city to the sea and bring together visitors and local residents throughout the year. A new longitudinal public path extends the boardwalk into the site, linking the surrounding neighborhoods while establishing a sequence of plazas and food-oriented public spaces.



The project is organized as three complementary layers: co-living, hospitality, and public food programs. A co-living building anchors the west, a hotel occupies the east, and a central public building accommodates a range of food-related activities. Beneath the buildings, a flexible market revives the spirit of “under the boardwalk,” transforming the previously hidden underside into an active public ground. Fresh markets, food vendors, cooking stations, and communal dining spaces allow visitors to participate in the preparation and consumption of food rather than simply purchasing it.



Above, generous balconies extend private living spaces toward the sea while creating opportunities for residents to share meals with neighbors. Operable polycarbonate panels form a changing second skin, allowing residents to adjust privacy, light, and expression. Rather than treating the hotel as an isolated destination, the project turns hospitality into an extension of public life—using food, movement, and shared space to create a new identity for Coney Island between the city and the sea.