TKTS began as an international competition in 1999 to redesign the much loved ticket booth at the heart of Times Square.

While the brief called for a small structure, the proposal reimagined the project as an urban gesture. Rather than simply replacing a booth, the design asked how this intense civic space could offer something back to the city. It recognised that one of New York’s greatest gathering places had nowhere to sit, pause or take in the spectacle of the street.

The response was a bold tiered red staircase that rises above the booth and forms a new public room in the open air. The translucent steps create seating for visitors and a backdrop to the statue of Father Duffy, while sheltering the ticketing hall below. Lit from within, the structure glows at night and holds its own amid the electric energy of Times Square. It is a place to meet, to wait, to watch the theatre of the city unfold.

Opened in 2008, TKTS has since become an icon of New York and popular culture. Widely awarded and embraced by the public, it demonstrates how a small intervention can transform the life of a square.