Resilient Red Hook - Reseach by Eugene Lubomir

RESILIENT RED HOOK

sarena rabinowitz & eugene lubomir

INDEX

CHAPTER 1_

Thesis Thesis Statement Hypothesis & Opportunities

CHAPTER 2_

Site Existing Conditions Site History Timeline Site Visit Walkthrough Mappings

CHAPTER 3_

Future Industry Connectivity Conceptual References

42 44 45 46

Projection: The Armature Strategy Focus Sites Deployment Sequence Conceptual Renders

CHAPTER 5_

10 16 18 20 22 24

Problems & Oppertunities Flooding

CHAPTER 4_

6 7

48 52 52 56

Bibliography Precedents References

61 68

THESIS For a city defined by the water’s edge, New York is not known for its integration with the waterfront. Its development has been inward and upward, but not along its periphery. This has resulted in a density that has become the model of modern city’s worldwide – but also resulted in an uneven development of the urban landscape. Red Hook has long existed as a neighborhood on the periphery – both literally and culturally. Consistently defined by its dominant industry, Red Hook has experienced waves of change as its landscape has shifted from marshland, to farmland, to shipping center – and when the shipping industry was irreversibly changed; it experienced a collapse from which it took its new normal. A future Red Hook cannot be wholly invested on a single industry – but instead hedge its future on many – it must become a breeding ground for future industries. Previously a self-sufficient neighborhood where people lived and work, its balance was thrown off when it lost the bulk of its jobs over a short period of time. Currently a place suitable best for those that work from home, its residents have difficulty staying connected with the city at large. A neighborhood disconnected from its city, Red Hook must become open to new and alternative modes of connectivity. Situated entirely in Zone A, Red Hook is in a vulnerable position in event of natural disasters. But unlike other places where risk might be a deterrent, Red Hook possesses the spirit to survive. In order to do so, it will need to reconsider its shortcomings with a more optimistic but weary attitude – hoping for the best, meanwhile, preparing for the worst. It must evolve to both be ready for, and even welcoming of the inevitable flooding. Red Hook was too homogeneous in what it had to offer its residents – too inflexible when it was confronted by change. The future of Red Hook is one of flexibility, openness and new ideas – the future is Resilient Red Hook.

HYPOTHESIS An armature responsive to these three issues, could bring a cohesiveness to Red Hook’s disconnected areas of opportunity. Superimposing a new datum and introducing an elevated circulation through a gesture at the scale of the neighborhood, responsive to its context at the scale of the street, we could engage the components and confront them on their shortcomings.

Perhaps the neighborhood can find an alternative to automotive and subway transit… perhaps elevated? suspended? community based? water based?

Red Hook’s collapse resulted from falling behind while innovations arose elsewhere, leaving it redundant and behind – could it be better insured by cultivating its own?

Can Red Hook better insure itself by accepting the inevitable danger of water to a low-lying area? Can its presence and threat be an asset in leveraging the neighborhoods value to the city?

• Develop bike use as culture • Take advantage of red hook’s waterfront access to develop ferry connectivity. • Introduce elevated transportation system that connects to Atlantic terminal. • Unify the waterfront as a site for public pedestrian occupation.

• Attract and cultivate craft workers / a creative enclave. • Develop incentive as a tech center and incubate new business. • Develop water-based transportation

• Invest in better infrastructure to handle drainage. • Reintroduce previously existing marshland to mediate storm surge and clean the water. • Implement ecological instruments, such as oyster reefs. • Build elevated; introduce a new datum, a secondary circulation that becomes primary in an emergency.

HYPOTHESIS

RED HOOK Brooklyn, New York

NEW JERSEY

STATEN ISLAND

QUEENS

HOBOKEN MANHATTAN JERSEY CITY

BROOKLYN

RED HOOK Brooklyn, New York

Container Port

Cruise Ship Terminal

Van Brunt st.

Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connell Warehouses

Fairway

Ikea

Red Hook Houses

Battery Park Tunnel

Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE)

2 8

4 7 5

4 6

RESIDENTS

TYPOLOGIES

Row-Houses

Warehouses

Multi-Story Public Housing

SHIPPING HISTORY

Red Hookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s past is filled with tales of industry and its decline. From the mid 19th century up until the mid 20th century, the Village of Red Hook was considered a main artery of the shipping trade in New York Harbor. With that said, its population during this time was primarily comprised of longshoremen and their families.

Drydock at Todd Shipyards in Red Hook, 1928

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TRANSPORTATION HISTORY

Street Car running along Smith & Sakett Streets, 1893

BQE Viaduct under construction, 1941

TIMELINE 1920

1930

WW1 (1914-18)

1940

1950

WW2 (1939-45)

Coolige

1960

Cold War (1947-1991)

Roosevelt ssevelt (1933-35)

Truman man (1945-53) Eisenhower m

JFK

LBJ Po

Neighborhood Neighborho o in decline... d

1920

1930

1940

1950

1960 1955

Design of the Standard Shipping container developed by Malcom McL & engineer Keith Tantlinger

1950 Mouth of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel opens up in Red Hook, further cutting off

1945

odel T becomes ecomes the mo m most commerically ful automobile mobile in histor history - stage set for n car culture. tture.

WW2 generates booming business for port industries, jobs soar

1940’s ’’s Ball fields elds and stadium replace the borhood’s depression-era shacks b neighborhood’s

1941 Gowanuss Expressway way completed under Robert w Moses, G i up for BQE, cuttting off Red Girders go u Hook from m the restt ofr Brooklyn

1936 Red Hook’s Pool and Bath-house Bath h opens pens p

1970

Nixon

1980

Ford Carter Reagan

1990

2000

Bush Bu Clinton

Bush

2010

2020

Obama

st-Industrial Crime Ridden, desolate neighborhood, severed from rest of Brooklyn

1970

Lean

1980

Recovery...

1990

2000

2010

2020

2009 90% of worlds non-bulk cargo travels by containers stacked on ships

1977 Greg O’ Connel begins buying and restoring warehouses.

1970’s-1980’s

2008

RedHook loses jobs and more than half its population during the financial crisis.

IKEA opens in Red Hook

2006 Fairway Opens Cruise Ship Dock Opens

Late 1900’s Artists occupy studio space in Red Hook’s

1995 Community Outreach in place via the Public Safety Corps

1992 Principle Patrick Daly killed in daylight during drug-related crossfire

1989 19 98 Sew Sewage w treatment plant opens, ending flow w of raw sewage into the Gowanus.

SCOPE OF IMPACT

Flood water resulting from the storm surge generated by Hurricane Sandy engulf the streets.

Area residents wade in flood waters the morning following Hurricane Sandy.

Men dispose of shopping carts full of food damaged by Hurricane Sandy at the Fairway supermarket in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn in New York, on October 31, 2012.

Damaged goods and furniture set out for disposal from the basement of a local cafe.

THE DAMAGE

Employees and volunteers remove damaged furniture and materials damaged by flood waters from the Beard St. Warehouses in Red Hook

Wood-working tools are laid out to dry after being damaged by flood-water during Hurricane Sandy.

Men and women dispose of damaged furniture and appliances damaged by flood-water.

A street is littered with the ruined contents of residential basements, flowing their flooding during Hurricane Sandy.

MAPPINGS

ks s loc ing y B ild Cit d Bu ie cup O c ots tL can Va ace Sp en Op Lots ng rki Pa

VACANCY & OPEN SPACE

NOLI MAP

MAPPINGS continued

GRID STUDY 26

FRESH TAX INCENTIVE

5 r2 de un k -45 25 k k

-65

-85

45 k+

65 85

ss Ma nd La ool h -sc l Pre choo cS bli Pu ery ram g ll Ga Pro Art hool Sc erAft m seu Mu

MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME

EDUCATION & YOUTH

MAPPINGS continued

on ati ntr nce Co of as Are ots tL can Va ass M nd La

50 00

-18 00 18

-19 50 18

-19 00

-20 +

19 19

00 20

VACANT LOTS

BUILDING AGE

ies s ss ilit Ma Fac cture & u nd La Lots Str ng ts & ation Lo rki Pa ned ecre R do an and Ab ace Sp en Op

ust

es liti ility aci & Ut cF bli on es Pu rtati enc o sid nsp Re Tra mily a 2F l 1 & mily ce ercia ffi Fa lti- & O mm Mu rcial l & Co e tia ing ur mm en Co esid fact R nu xed & Ma l ria Mi

Ind

OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION

LAND USE

MAPPINGS continued

50 00

-18

18 50

-19

18 00

-19 -20

00 50

19 +

19 20

e4 e3

n Zo

n Zo n Zo

ZONING

FLOOD PLAIN

nce

3 6 5

14 8 2

e sid Re ily am 2 F ip 1 & nersh ip w y O rsh Cit wne O ip xed rsh Mi ne p w r O rshi e he Ot Own e vat Pri

n t tio na istric sig de or d ark ark m dm an and ic L ic l tor tor His His sed nated po Pro desig nt rre Cu

10 4

LAND OWNERSHIP

HISTORIC LANDMARKS & DISTRICTS

MAPPINGS continued

Customers Without Power 50,000 25,000 10,000

Evacuated Zones Riverdale

Fordham

North River Plant

Hunts Point Plant Wards Island Plant Wastewater Treatment Plant Howery hay Plant

Evacuation Zone A

Yorkville

Evacuation Zone B Newton Creek Plant Long Island City

Evacution Zone C

Lower Manhattan

Maspeth

Red Hook Plant Borough Hall Park Place

Crown Heights Park Slope

26th Ward Plant

Port Richmond Plant Owls Head Plant

Flatbush Ocean Parkway

Willowbrook

Coney Island Plant

Fox Hills

Wainwright

Sheepshead Bay

North River Plant

WASTE TREATMENT vs. FLOOD ZONES 32

Fresh Kills

POST-SANDY POWER OUTAGES

i rm r Te ine nta t Co t Por cen

ja Ad

th Pa

ing

Dre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1 2 3 4 5 6

Elizabeth Bay Chennel Newark Bay Channel South Elizabeth Channel Arthur Kill Channel Kill van Kull Channel Port Jersey Channel Anchorage Channel Ambrose Channel Bay Ridge Channel

Port Newark Container Terminal Maher Container Terminal APM Container Terminal New York Container Terminal Globe Marine Container Terminal Red Hook Container Terminal

2 3

5 7

DREDGED CHANNELS

NEW YORK AREA CONTAINER PORTS 33

MAPPINGS continued

PUBLIC TRANSIT POST HURRICANE SANDY COMMUTER FERRY ANNUAL RIDERSHIP 34

l y r Wet tor en ido Inv Corr ds an tream etl lW dS na al an tio Na al Tid ic tor

His

New York City Wetlands

Historic Tidal and Stream Corridor Wetlands

National Wetlands Inventory Wetlands

an PlaNY

NYC WATERSHED SYSTEM

NEW YORK CITY WETLANDS 35

MAPPINGS continued

/12 /03 11 2 - /12 isit /30 e V 09 Sit it 1 is eV Sit

COMMERCIAL OVERLAY 36

SITE VISITS

ork tw Ne ail tR igh Fre ard il Y sh Ra ility ellfi sh ac r t F he Po eat t can u Yo

t loa il F rk Ra two e rge Ba Rail N t igh Fre ard il Y ne Ra ility s Zo es ac r t F sin Po al Bu ri ust Ind

NYS WATER QUALITY CLASSIFICATIONS

FREIGHT RAIL & BARGE NETWORK

MAPPINGS continued

R nR ilto R am eR e Av rt H Fo . RR ntic R Lin St Atla in R s urt Co St. & rie Ba . RR tic Ee en st d an Atl nt an Berg & ru n B lyn Va rook B uth

Light Rail Brooklyn Historic Railroad Association

Completed Trackwork Trackwork in Construction "

1875 RAILROAD ROUTES 38

Proposed Extension

PROPOSED LIGHT RAIL

ad ilro Ra ay, ilw Ra ps 01 Sto 19 p in Sto e, Tra ry t Fer Rou l ay oca bw - L Su ute ough Ro - Thr ck Tru tes ps u Ro s Sto ck u Tru te, B ou sR Bu ute o eR Bik

Ferry Terminal Bus Stop

!( (! !(

!( !(

(! !(

Subway Entrance (! !(

Subway Route Bus Route Bike Route Truck Route-Local

!( !(

Truck Route-Through

(! !( !(

Railroad

!( !(

(! !(

" !(

!( !(

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LOCAL TRANSIT

BROOKLYN PUBLIC TRANSIT

Illustrated is the current MTA public transit system overlaid with the system of Brooklyn Rapid transit - the old lines of the Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad, as shown in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle - 1910 39

MAPPINGS continued

Farm Map 1896

Edward Tiscole James Wolocheste

Fred Lud

Peter Montfort Mudde

Cornelis Johnson

Peter Ceasar

Jan Mance

Carret

Pieter Corne

Jorvis

Cornell

Michael Picot Tyson Van Dyke

Claes Jansen

Remsen

Mathius Van Dyke

Jordan

Luqueers

Gerret Wolph Jacob Stoffeise

Muick Aertse

Van Dyke Mill Pond

Frederick Lubbertse Coles

18th CENTURY PLANTATIONS 40

19th CENTURY FARMS

101

211

165

101

Source: GrowNYC

21st CENTURY GARDENS

SOIL TYPES 41

SENSITIVITY TO FLOODING Acceptance Zone Sacrificial program at ground level Allows water to flood the first level without damage

Toleration Zone Temporary ground level program Accommodates flexible programs, movable if necessary Programs partially accessible from ground level, only where unavoidable

Prevention Zone Special measures taken to prevent flood water from reaching program located here

DOMINANT PROGRAMS IN SECTION l tia en l sid ria Re dust In ht Lig rcial me m Co

INSPIRATION VENICE Challenges and Opportunities

Pedestrians walk atop scaffolding errected by the city to cross a flooded Piazza San Marco at acqua alta, or high water, in Venice. The scaffolding is a temporary structure that is taken down by workers when the waters recede.

Nomally croweded by tourists, a flooded San Marco discourages pedestrian occupation, but enables alternative, water based transportation. This man explores Veniceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main square with his kayak.

ELEVATED TRAINS Challenges and Opportunities

Elevated trains allow for the continuation of activity below, while hosting an accessible form of transportation above. The structure is both a magnet for activity, and a visual boundary.

The High-Line Park in the Chelsea neighborhood of NYC allows pedestrians to occupy the city on a new, elevated plane.

AN ELEVATED PLANE alternatives to ground-level occupation

Union Station Greenway, Washington D.C.

Lujiazui Pedestrian Bridge, Shanghai, China

ELEVATED OCCUPATION protection from ground-level threats, priveledged vantage, and creation of an in-between space.

Vanke Center, Shenzhen, China

Giant Group Campus , Shanghai, China

ARMATURE Industry / Connectivity / Flooding

PHASED DEPLOYMENT SEQUENCE

phase 1

2 4

PRIMARY ARMATURE

cu Fo

es Sit ture a cus Fo Arm ry ma Pri

FOCUS SITES

ite

1 2 3 4 5

Red Hook Container Port / Cruise Ship Terminal Red Hook Houses Columbia Street Pier Under BQE Over BQE

response to focus sites

phase 2

phase 3

SECONDARY ARMATURE

ARMATURE HOSTS TRANSPORTATION

ts t lo can Va re atu Arm

ies nc aca /V re es atu Sit rm cus l Fo Rai ary A ed nd vat co Ele & Se ry ma Pri

response to vacant lots

elevated rail

ARMATURE INSTIGATES FURTHER DEVELOPMENT

tes es t si Sit en c u s il Fo d Ra lopm e ve vat de Ele re & atu Arm

ARMATURE INSTIGATES NEW PROGRAMS

es sit nt il pme Ra ed velo vat de Ele re & atu Arm

1 2 3 4

Wetlands Park Ferry Terminal Recreation / Evacuation Center Distributed Incubator Sites

PRECEDENTS

CITIES_

Adaptive Reuse on the Industrial Waterfront Puerto Madero Toronto Waterfront HafenCity

64 66 68

PUERTO MADERO Buenos Aires, Argentina

The old Port of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Puerto Madero, is comprised of 650 acres filled with once underutilized or abandoned docks and warehouse buildings. The redevelopment plan creates four new districts: a mixed use district, a government and commercial trade district, a residential district, and an institutional/free-trade district. Vital to the success of the entire development is the transportation system serving it. A new highway adjacent to Puerto Madero ensures maximum utilization and convenience of use. Throughout the plan, adaptive re-use of as many older buildings as possible is emphasized. These buildings, emblematic of Puerto Maderoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shipping past, will find new life as restaurants, offices, cultural buildings, retail shops, and residences, and will provide a counterpoint to the many new low, mid, and high rise buildings in the

redeveloped area. The Urban Development Project in Puerto Madero transforms a vast underutilized railway and port area through a state initiative to promote a new model of active political and strategies concerted public and private sector. The reconversion project was based on the area to save it from neglect and deterioration reordered to balance the urban character and preserve its activities that require central location public and private offices, commercial and cultural services and residential were not in the urban areas of land and proper environment context, and restore the relationship with the river entering public areas for recreation and relaxation.

WATERFRONT TORONTO Toronto, Canada

Waterfront Toronto is building the largest urban revitalization project in North America. It brings together sustainable technology, excellence in urban design, real estate development, leading technology infrastructure and the delivery of important public policy objectives. The main focus of the project is reconnecting the people with the waterfront. Most of the previously industrial space is being reimagined to a public recreational waterfront. There is an overarching emphasis on increasing parks and public space and encouraging environmentally and economically sustainable design. The edge where the city meets the water is called the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;blue edgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; where previously underused and unappreciated space is being transformed to a public asset for the community. East Bayfront will feature 6,000 residential units, including 1,200 affordable residences, and millions of square feet of employment space able to accommodate 8,000 jobs. The area will also be a hub for retail, entertainment and cultural amenities and will be easily accessible by public transportation.

1974

1959

1912

1886

Central Waterfront East Bayfront West Don Lands Lower Don Lands

1834

Upper Port Lands Lower Port Lands

Waterfront Toronto plans to transform the largely underutilized industrial area into new sustainable parks and communities. The naturalization and shifting of the mouth of the Don River is the centrepiece of the plans for the Lower Don Lands. This part of the site is being transformed from former industrial lands into a sustainable, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly, riverside community. The revitalized West Don Lands will feature 6,000 new residential units, ample employment and commercial space, at least one elementary school, and two child-care centres, all surrounded by 23 acres of parks and public spaces.

Much of the area is also in the flood plain of the Don River and flood protection must be created before the area can be fully developed.

The Port Lands are man-made and were created by decades of infilling what was once the largest wetland on the Great Lakes. Beginning in the 1880s, the area was gradually filled in to make more land available for industry and shipping. Since it was created, most of the Port Lands have been utilized for industrial uses and the majority of the area currently lacks servicing for other uses.

HAFENCITY

Hamburg, Germany

HafenCity reveals one approach to tackling future-adaptive urban development. The raised roadways and buildings, water resilient surfaces, floating waterfront promenades, terraced landscapes and bridges all work together as important infrastructure and create an architecturally vibrant district that connects residents to the waterfront while also making the whole area resilient in the face of more frequent flooding. In addition to its water adaptive design strategies, HafenCity exemplifies many other sustainable urban planning ideas. It is dense, walkable, bikeable, served by public transit, and full of multi-use buildings and public spaces. Much of the land was formerly brownfields and has now been cleaned and developed. Additionally, the historic character of the area is honored. Many buildings in the neighboring Speicherstadt area have been refurbished and some buildings in HafenCity, like the new concert hall, adaptive reuse existing buildings.

HafenCity Hamburg is a project of city-planning where the old port warehouses of Hamburg are being replaced with offices, hotels, shops, official buildings, and residential areas. The project is the largest rebuilding project in Europe in scope of landmass. The area of the HafenCity used to be part of the free port, but with the decreased economic importance of free ports in an era of European Union free trade, large container ships and increased border security, the Hamburg free port was reduced in size, removing the current HafenCity area from its restrictions. When completely developed, it will be home to about 12,000 people and the workplace of 40,000 people mostly in office complexes.

The relationship here between water level, quay walls and edges, pontoons, watercraft and buildings is continuously shifting.reated before the area can be fully developed. Because HafenCity has so many different levels of public space there are many interesting points of interaction between levels. In HafenCity quarter proper, the terraces are the sites of the most dramatic places of transition. They link the waterfront to the streets above; stepping up from sea level (0 m), to promenade level (4.5 m) to street level (7.5 m).

Floating docks are accessible at sea level, which changes twice daily: The pontoons of the Traditional Ship Harbor provide a level of urban perception which rises and falls with the tide. Since the water level of the River Elbe varies twice daily by more than 3 meters, depending on the ebb and flow of the tide, perception of the quarter is constantly changing.

RESILIENT REDHOOK degree project research school of architecture pratt institute brooklyn, NY