Albany BOA | 2026 SARA Award Winner

Albany North Waterfront: Reimagining the Urban Edge

Politi Architecture is committed to shaping the future of urban environments by integrating architecture, landscape, and infrastructure. Our dedication to design excellence supports the creation of dynamic and thriving communities.

Town Square Park represents a bold vision for the Albany North Waterfront—transforming an underutilized site into a vibrant civic landscape that redefines what a public square can be. This is not simply a park, but a living, breathing urban environment where architecture and landscape become one.

At its core, a sculptural glass pavilion emerges from the landscape - its sweeping green roof forming an inhabitable landform that invites people to engage with the terrain in entirely new ways. Beneath it, a transparent civic space fosters connection, hosting markets, events, and everyday moments of community life.

The project is equally driven by performance as it is by experience. A network of blue-green infrastructure—rain gardens, bioswales, and integrated water systems—transforms stormwater into a visible, dynamic feature of the public realm, while native landscapes enhance biodiversity and seasonal richness.

Tree-lined promenades, open lawns, and intimate garden spaces create a layered sequence of experiences—balancing energy and calm, movement and pause.

Town Square Park is a new model for the contemporary civic square - where sustainability is celebrated, design is immersive, and public space becomes a catalyst for identity, resilience, and connection.