PAU Sidewalk Shed Prototypes Go Up Outside DOB HQ at 280 Broadway

What happened

Two new sidewalk shed prototypes designed by the architecture firm PAU went up outside the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) headquarters at 280 Broadway in Civic Center, Manhattan. Hoodline reported that they were unveiled on 10/19/2026 and that this is the first time either design has appeared on a city sidewalk. The Baseline Shed is meant for long-term use. It comes in heavy-duty and light-duty versions and has a clear polycarbonate roof that lets daylight through. The Speed Shed is a lightweight, mobile structure for short-term work and emergency repairs. It uses protective netting instead of solid decking and has detachable wheels so crews can move it. PAU also designed a Wide Baseline Shed for larger, longer projects on broad sidewalks, with widely spaced columns to reduce obstructions.

Citing New York YIMBY, Hoodline reported that all of the designs use sloped roofs. The slope removes the need for a parapet, lets in more light, discourages climbing and improves sightlines to buildings and storefronts. They are built from a standard modular kit with adjustable aluminum framing, a drainage gutter and a hidden flat scaffolding plane. PAU worked with LERA Consulting Structural Engineers, Tang Studio Architect, Langan, RWDI, Fisher Marantz Stone and Dharam Consulting.

The prototypes come out of the city's Get Sheds Down initiative. That initiative picked teams led by PAU and Arup in 2024, and the teams produced six designs, three from each firm. According to 6sqft, Arup's Flex Shed and Rigid Shed had their own 30-day test run outside 280 Broadway earlier this year, before PAU's turn. DOB is moving forward with rulemaking that would make all six designs available in all five boroughs. The city owns the designs, and they can be freely reproduced.

On 10/19/2026, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and DOB reported that sidewalk sheds citywide had dropped by about 1,200 since the start of the year, a decline of more than 15 percent. DOB figures cited by 6sqft show 6,822 active sheds as of 11/03/2026. Those sheds had been up for an average of 568 days and covered 1,624,990 linear feet in total. An earlier Mayor's Office release put the decline at 17 percent but did not say what period it measured, so the two figures are not directly comparable.