Operation Welcome
LocationBuffalo, NY
ProgramPort of Entry + Community Center
Recognition2022 AIA Triangle Award Nominee
2022 UNCC Critical Mass Symposium
Operation Welcome is an atypical port
of entry that has been designed to
incorporate a community center. The
design is a prototype for what nodes
along our transportation infrastructure
could become if designed for the
community rather than solely vehicular
traffic. Located in Buffalo, NY the design
would replace the current Peace Bridge
Plaza, the second most trafficked port
of entry on the Canada-US border. By
pushing the vehicular border crossing
circulation underground, and elevating
the pedestrian border crossing circulation
to ground level, the design creates a
more welcoming entry into the US and
unique experiences for both modes of
transportation. Prior research on the
site’s qualities, history, and demographics
suggested that a community center
would be useful on the site to correct the
damage that the original port of entry
and interstate enacted to the surrounding
community. By elevating the community
center program and connecting the site to
the Niagara River via bridge and elevator
tower, the project seeks to reconnect
residents to activity along the riverfront
and subvert traditional power structures associated with border crossings, and
vehicular transportation.