The intentions of this study are to investigate the historic evolution of the metropolis, classify the different stages of its evolution and to analyse the layers of its present appearance on the urban as well as on the object scale in order to illustrate the formal narrative of Manhattan. The Thesis attempts to find a concept and urban design proposal for the selected area in Lower Manhattan, and from there on to design an object, which is derived from the analytical understanding of Manhattan and to find its expression through the urban design concept: A housing project on the ruins of the former piers in Lower Manhattan.