Once upon a time, New York City only had to worry about 100-year storm surges. But as sea levels rise, new research shows that the city may need to worry about these high-intensity weather events as often as every three years.
To protect the Big Apple from flooding, a new design by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) is under consideration: the Big U. It's one of 10 entries in the Rebuild by Design competition, held by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The design of the Big U doesn't just address the concerns of engineers, it is built with community needs in mind.
“In the history of New York with the legacy of Robert Moses, most of the infrastructure—whether that’s highways or parks—have generally been imposed without a lot of regard for existing community fabric,” Jeremy Siegel, the project leader, told FastCompany. “If you’re going to be investing so much money into an infrastructure for resiliency—that’s going to be sitting along one of the most spectacular coastlines in the world—there’s a huge opportunity there to also improve civic infrastructure, so it can protect the city, but also become a platform for civic life."
The design extends from West 57th Street to the tip of the Battery, then up to East 42nd Street—but within that range, the coast is divided into completely separate flood protection zones. Essentially, this is the same design principle used in ship-building. If one part of the ship is breached by water, that water is contained in one area, rather than being free to spread throughout the hull. In the same way, the Big U flood protection zones are all completely autonomous. If one fails, that doesn't men the whole system fails.
This also means that as funding comes in, each section could be built on its own. In its competition entry, BIG focused on sections of the city that might benefit a bit more than others in the event of flooding—two of the three sections in the original design are located in the Lower East Side, which sustained serious damage during Hurricane Sandy.
“When it floods, it’s a population that doesn’t necessarily have the means to head out of town or take a hotel somewhere else,” Siegel says. “It’s a place that makes a lot of sense to start.”
The third section BIG focused on was the southern end of Manhattan, in order to protect vital financial institutions and create more effective public spaces. The design includes raised portions of land, both to prevent flooding and provide new park space. Beneath FDR drive, flood walls can be flipped up at will—either to stop incoming water, or to create a sheltered public space.
Check out the initial renderings of the Big U below. Renderings courtesy of BIG.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Sep 17, 2024
New California building code encourages, but does not mandate heat pumps
New California homes are more likely to have all-electric appliances starting in 2026 after the state’s energy regulators approved new state building standards. The new building code will encourage installation of heat pumps without actually banning gas heating.
Mass Timber | Sep 17, 2024
Marina del Rey mixed-use development is L.A.’s largest mass timber project
An office-retail project in Marina del Rey is Los Angeles’ largest mass timber project to date. Encompassing about 3 acres, the 42XX campus consists of three low-rise buildings that seamlessly connect with exterior walkways and stairways. The development provides 151,000 sf of office space and 1,500 sf of retail space.
Education Facilities | Sep 16, 2024
Hot classrooms, playgrounds spur K-12 school districts to go beyond AC for cooling
With hotter weather occurring during the school year, school districts are turning to cooling strategies to complement air conditioning. Reflective playgrounds and roads, cool roofs and window films, shade structures and conversion of asphalt surfaces to a natural state are all being tried in various regions of the country.
Office Buildings | Sep 16, 2024
Maximizing office square footage through ‘agile planning’
Lauren Elliott, RID, NCIDQ, Director of Interior Design, Design Collaborative, shares tips for a designing with a popular and flexible workspace model: Agile planning.
3D Printing | Sep 13, 2024
Swiss researchers develop robotic additive manufacturing method that uses earth-based materials—and not cement
Researchers at ETH Zurich, a university in Switzerland, have developed a new robotic additive manufacturing method to help make the construction industry more sustainable. Unlike concrete 3D printing, the process does not require cement.
Libraries | Sep 12, 2024
How space supports programming changes at university libraries
GBBN Associate Sarah Kusuma Rubritz, AIA, uses the University of Pittsburgh's Hillman Library to showcase how libraries are transforming to support students’ needs.
Adaptive Reuse | Sep 12, 2024
White paper on office-to-residential conversions released by IAPMO
IAPMO has published a new white paper titled “Adaptive Reuse: Converting Offices to Multi-Residential Family,” a comprehensive analysis of addressing housing shortages through the conversion of office spaces into residential units.
Mixed-Use | Sep 10, 2024
Centennial Yards, a $5 billion mixed-use development in downtown Atlanta, tops out its first residential tower
Centennial Yards Company has topped out The Mitchell, the first residential tower of Centennial Yards, a $5 billion mixed-use development in downtown Atlanta. Construction of the apartment building is expected to be complete by the middle of next year, with first move-ins slated for summer 2025.
Healthcare Facilities | Sep 9, 2024
Exploring the cutting edge of neuroscience facility design
BWBR Communications Specialist Amanda Fisher shares the unique considerations and challenges of designing neuroscience facilities.
Office Buildings | Sep 6, 2024
Fact sheet outlines benefits, challenges of thermal energy storage for commercial buildings
A U.S. Dept. of Energy document discusses the benefits and challenges of thermal energy storage for commercial buildings. The document explains how the various types of thermal energy storage technologies work, where their installation is most beneficial, and some practical considerations around installations.