BIG completes solar education centre for renewed East River park in New York

Architecture studio BIG has announced a milestone in the ongoing construction of parks along the East River in New York with a timber-clad building with built-in solar infrastructure.

The Solar One Environmental Education Center is a two-storey timber-clad building designed to harvest solar energy and store it in case of emergency.

Above: BIG has completed the Solar One Environmental Education Center. Photo by Foad Sarsangi. Top image: it is part of a larger resiliency project. Photo by Iwan Baan

According to the studio, the 6,409-square-foot (595-square-metre) structure is the "city's first building to include ground-up solar photovoltaics and battery storage", which means that it is the first of its kind to include this energy infrastructure as part of the plan and not be added later as an upgrade.

It has a concrete base and a lightweight steel structure and features classrooms for environmental programmes elevated above the floodplain with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the river, stepping up in tandem with the slight rise of elevation in the building.

Wood-clad solar centre on East River — It is elevated above the East River. Photo by Foad Sarsangi

At ground level, it has a grating that allows for water to flow freely in and out of the building in case of floods.

It replaces the preexisting building that, according to BIG, was a "vital refuge" for residents during the flooding of the city when Hurricane Sandy devastated New York City in 2012.

Empire State building over Stuy Town — It is a part of a wider coastal resiliency project in the city. Photo by Foad Sarsangi

"The Solar One Environmental Education Center stands as both a model for modern flood protection and a learning tool for climate adaptation," said BIG, which added that the energy storage capability should enable the building to stay open in the event of future power outages.

It is part of the several sections of renewed parks along the East River in Manhattan that have opened as part of the ongoing East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR), which both provides public space for residents and creates buffers against future storms.

Running between the FDR freeway and the river, wrapping the Lower East Side, the parks feature in sections along the river, with the most significant recent work being completed around the Williamsburg Bridge. The Solar One centre is sited at the far northern end of the project.

Flood resilient parks — Several firms worked with the city to create flood-resilient parks. Photo by Iwan Baan

"With the re-opening of East River Park, we see the first physical manifestation of a decade-long vision: an archipelago of parks forming an elevated, undulating new landscape – a 'parkipelago' if you will," said BIG founder Bjarke Ingels.

"Each island of green is devoted to a use and character decided by the community. Rather than separating the city from the waterfront, we’ve designed a public realm that invites people in with new connections across the FDR, transforming flood protection into a tapestry of everyday experiences."

"The result is infrastructure that not only strengthens, but also enhances the city's coastline. It protects, connects, and inspires – proof that the future of our cities can be both safe from flood and full of life."

Williamsburg Bridge with park underneath — The park provides public space while buffing up Manhattan's flood-prone areas. Photo by Iwan Baan

BIG worked with the City of New York as well as landscape studios MNLA and ONE Architecture & Urbanism to create the park systems, which feature sports pitches, tracks and landscaped parks, all integrated with flood mitigation engineering.

Floodwalls, sliding gates, bridging berms, and elevated parkland all feature in the 2.2 miles of parkland. The recent completion is the second major phase of the park to open, with further completions planned for the coming years.

Hundreds of trees and plants were selected by MNLA to mitigate the risk of flooding and create a pleasant environment for locals.

"Park spaces are threaded by a continuous, widened waterfront esplanade, offering a variety of seating options and a shared-use bike and pedestrian path that runs sinuously through the upland landscape," said MNLA.

"This newest section of East River Park is both a destination and a demonstration of how critical infrastructure, community, and nature can be woven together to deliver lasting, multifaceted benefits to the public."

BIG is currently working with the City of New York on additional resiliency parks on the southern end of Manhattan, part of an overall plan the studio developed in 2014.

Meanwhile, Thomas Phifer and Partners completed a pavilion in another resilient park in Lower Manhattan by AECOM.

Project credits:

East Side Coastal Resiliency collaborators: MNLA, ONE Architecture & Urbanism, AKRF & KSE, Arcadis, Jacobs, Hardesty Hanover, Siteworks, Wesler Cohen, Hazen & Sawyer, Pentagram, Hortus Environmental Design, FHI Studio, Starr Whitehouse, James Lima Planning + Development

Solar One Environmental Education Center collaborators: TYLin, AKRF, Cosentini Associates, MNLA, KM Associates, Cerami Associates, HLB, Lerch Bates, CCI, Construction Specification Inc., Socotec

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