The task for this studio was to design a new mixed-use building across from the Apollo Theatre on 125th Street in Harlem. The developer Jonathan Rose, with New York-based architects Sara Caples and Everardo Jefferson challenged their Yale students to design a sustainable mixed-use residential and cultural building, with housing for retired jazz musicians, restaurants, and media spaces, on the last city- owned parcel.

The studio questioned issues of cultural representation versus the mutability of the site's ethnic anchorings. It requires the designer to consider each space from the user's perspective. And it demands high standards of sustainable design, headed towards net zero, that support a more satisfying occupant experience, with maximal use of controlled daylight and natural ventilation.

The book features interviews with those on the studio juries including Robert A. M. Stern, Alexander Garvin, and Vincent Chang.