Living with Water in Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY

2016 Spring
Arch 400, Elective Design Studio
Undergraduate Architecture
Full project report can be accessed here.

During 2011 and 2012, hurricane Irene and the Superstorm Sandy rocked the Metro New York region; it became clear that these were no longer 100-year events. Since then, in New York, government agencies, community organizations together with designers, planners and engineers have been working together to formulate protection for the affected/afflicted waterfront communities.  To prevent further degradation of the coast from the rising sea levels work is underway in Hunt’s Point in Bronx, Coney Island, and Red Hook in Brooklyn, Rockaways in Queens, New York and Hoboken in New Jersey. These densely populated urban areas with aging infrastructure aggravate the current fragile conditions…  Perhaps new, innovative strategies can re-establish lost equilibrium between the natural and the built–environments.

Globally and locally all emerging coastal resiliency initiatives are not only engineering marvels but interdisciplinary. Going forward, aspects of urban life, including connectivity, water, food, energy, ecosystems and human health has to be considered and the existing urban fabric to be re-assessed for their historic value all at once. Rebuild by Design, New York Rising and all other initiatives have brought planner, designers, engineers, landscape architect, historic preservationist, urban strategist, community organizations, economists, developers together. This integrated team approach will be the model for our studio environment: Living with Water studio will work together with the Resiliency Studio offered by the PSPD program in Red Hook, Brooklyn, one of New York’s working waterfronts.

Client Partner:

Red Hook Initiative

Professor: Zehra Kuz

Students:

Conigliaro, Salvatore

Eid, Charbel

Halvorsen, Sonja

Kahn, Azeem

Kulusic, Matea

Mitchev, Ada

Timana, Elard

Wang, Zi