James Marsh | Syracuse University Thesis 2015
Resilient Housing in Red Hook, Brooklyn
1
Contents INTRODUCTION MAYOR DE BLASIO’S HOUSING PLAN STORM SURGES AND SEA LEVEL RISE CASE STUDIES GETTING TO KNOW RED HOOK THE THESIS THE PLAN OF ACTION
2
Introduction Hurricane Sandy wreaked devastation across the coastlines of New York City in 2012. When sea levels rise 73� by the end of the century, the city will also find itself partially underwater. New York City also faces a quota of 200,000 new future homes while its land mass shrinks. If the edge of the city is to be preserved it must be redefined. In areas a seawall is necessary to protect land behind, but in other areas a much thicker edge allows water to co-inhabit land like the tides of a beach. My thesis contends to resolve the challenges of storm surges, sea level rise, and housing demand in Red Hook, Brooklyn through redefining the edge of the city and the relationship of housing to the sea while preserving an incentivized economic region within the city.
3
Mayor de Blasio’s NYC Housing Plan 2015 Housing & Economic Development NYC’s housing board have concluded that the city needs to build or preserve at least 200,000 affordable living units for 500,000 New Yorkers over the next ten years. Their five goals within this master plan are “fostering diverse, liveable neighborhoods, preserving the affordablility and quality of the existing housing stock, building new affordable housing for all New Yorkers, promoting homeless, senior, supportive and accessible housing, and expanding funding sources for affordable housing.”1 A number of guiding principles will be considered for this large scale project which include addressing the City’s changing demographics, revamping land-use policies, creating economic diversity, locking in existing affordability, and reversing the decreasing trend of rent stabilization.2 A new mixed income program is designed to serve 20% low income, 30% moderate income, and 50% middle income. Zoning, building codes, and housing codes will be updated to unlock development potential within the city. These moves show where NYC’s methods arise in terms of realistically creating a mass amount of quality homes.
Glen, Alicia. “Housing New York: A Five-Borough, Ten-Year Plan.” The City of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio. 2015. 1. 1. Glen, Alicia. “Housing New York: A Five-Borough, Ten-Year Plan.” The City of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio. 2015. 6. 2. Glen, Alicia. “Housing New York.” 7.
Glen, Alicia. “Housing New York: A Five-Borough, Ten-Year Plan.” The City of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio. 2015. 23.
Glen, Alicia. “Housing New York: A Five-Borough, Ten-Year Plan.” The City of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio. 2015. 24.
4
Nearly one third of NYC residents are rent burdened because the city’s housing stock is not reaching its required demand.
5
The edge of the city changes dramatically as water levels rise. STORM SURGES AND SEA LEVEL RISE 6
As the coastline begins to rise and transform...
New York/New Jersey Current Sea Level
7
... by two feet...
New York/New Jersey Sea Level + 2’
8
... four feet...
New York/New Jersey Sea Level + 4’
9
... six feet...
New York/New Jersey Sea Level + 6’
10
... eight feet...
New York/New Jersey Sea Level + 8’
11
... and even ten feet, which is comparable to the storm surges of Hurricane Sandy, NYC land mass is shrinking.
New York/New Jersey Sea Level + 10’
12
Problems of water quality that surround the city...
New York/New Jersey Water Quality
13
... will only become worse.
New York/New Jersey Water Quality Projected to +10 Sea Level
14
Studies of currents show that Red Hook forms the gateway for the East River.
New York/New Jersey Current Speed and Direction
15
Experts have addressed these challenges of the city’s relationship with the sea. CASE STUDIES 16
Competitions sought to address these types of inevitable problems.
New York/New Jersey Rebuild by Design Winners
17
The West coast of Brooklyn was not directly addressed by the winners of the Rebuild by Design Competition.
New York/New Jersey Rebuild by Design Winners
18
Some designs may or may not have take into account the future projected sea level rise.
New York/New Jersey Rebuild by Design Winners with 10’ Sea Level Overlay
19
The Dryline Bjarke Ingels Group As a Rebuild by Design winning project, BIG’s ‘Dryline’ “seeks to form a continuous storm barrier around lower Manhattan by transforming underutilized waterfront spaces into a “protective ribbon” of public parks and amenities.”1 This vision of green space and parks would provide the financial district of New York City with a resilient buffer zone between built environment and the sea. BIG has imagined a range of possibilities for what a seawall, typically of engineering and infrastructural design, can manifest itself as in relationship to public space and function. The massive master plan is imagined in phases that will increasingly become funded and over time more effectively protect the center of the city. Touted as a rather clever plan for the future of NYC resiliency, The Guardian comments - “If New York has to build 10 miles of flood defences to protect the city from another Hurricane Sandy, why not conceive the barrier as a brand new waterfront park?”2 The Dryline represents a new type of thinking towards the city’s relationship with the sea.
http://weburbanist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/dryline-manhattan-park-view-644x386.jpeg
1. Rosenfield, Karissa. “Animated Film Envisions BIG’s Manhattan.” ArchDaily. February 17, 2015. 2. Wainwright, Oliver. “Bjarke Ingels on the New York Dryline: ‘We Think of It as the Love-child of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs’” Theguardian.com. March 9, 2015.
https://microsolresources.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/dryline-proposal.jpg
http://www.bustler.net/images/news2/the_dryline-3.jpg
20
Oyster-Tecture SCAPE / Landscape Architecture PLLC With an admirable list of goals “We aim to mitigate the risk to humans from periodic weather extremes, improve the quality of our everyday lives, and rebuild our ecosystem,”1 in the 2010 MoMA Rising Currents Exhibition, SCAPE proposed what they call Oyster-Tecture. Based on New York City’s ecological heritage, the firm strives to return native oysters to the shores of Brooklyn’s Red Hook. In their own words, “a living reef is constructed from a field of piles and a woven web of “fuzzy rope” that supports oyster and mussel growth and builds a rich three-dimensional landscape mosaic.”2 Offshore breakwaters help to mitigate the kinetic energy contained in storm waves. The reefs of oysters also filter millions of gallons of water resulting in a cleaner shoreline. Along with these types of infrastructural moves, SCAPE envisions educational facilities that will engage with the public and especially the youth of the city to spread knowledge about the natural environment.
1. Cohen, Michelle. “Living Breakwaters: An Award-Winning Project Brings ‘Oyster-tecture’ to Staten Island.” 6sqft. January 28, 2015.
http://designapplause.com/wp-content/xG58hlz9/2014/12/oyster3.jpg
2.“Oyster-Tecture | MoMA Rising Currents.” SCAPE/Landscape Architecture PLLC. scapestudio.com. 2010.
http://www.archipelagos.co/mobile/files/gimgs/25_oyster-tecturewaveattenuation.jpg
http://images.adsttc.com/media/images/55e8/937d/e258/4646/dc00/005f/large_jpg/dsc06223.jpg?1441305443
21
Growing Water Chicago urbanlab Building off of an existing network of parks called Chicago’s Emerald Necklace, urbanlab diagrams a shoreline that allows water to seep inland while being filtered by natural ecologies. It uses a simple scheme of linear parks that are envisioned as ecological systems. This type of large scale design is a constructive method that can later be zoomed in and more specifically imagined.
1. http://www.urbanlab.com/urban/growingwater.html
22
Research at the scale of the city reveals a set of unique situations in Red Hook, Brooklyn. GETTING TO KNOW RED HOOK 23
The city has picked Red Hook as a zone of economic development within the city.
New York/New Jersey Economic Incentive “Empire Zones�
24
Household incomes are below average...
New York/New Jersey Median Household Income
25
... while gross rent is well above average.
New York/New Jersey Median Gross Rent
26
Red Hook is home to a diverse range of economic situations.
New York/New Jersey Household Income Diversity
27
Family sizes are relatively large.
New York/New Jersey Average Family Size
28
Red Hook holds a large percentage of vacant housing.
New York/New Jersey % Vacant Housing Units
29
Sunset Park has stand-alone houses...
New York/New Jersey % Stand-Alone Homes
30
... and 2-Unit structures...
New York/New Jersey %2-Unit Structures
31
... while Red Hook is mostly 5 to 9-Unit housing.
New York/New Jersey % 5 to 9 -Unit Housing
32
Most of which were built before 1939 and are aging.
New York/New Jersey % of Houses Built 1939 or Earlier
33
Unemployment is low...
New York/New Jersey Unemployment
34
... but the home can also be seen as the workplace.
New York/New Jersey % Work at Home
35
Red Hook is home to a large relative percentage of caucasians...
New York/New Jersey % Caucasian Residents
36
... while Sunset Park has a larger percentage of Hispanic,...
New York/New Jersey % Hispanic Residents
37
... Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander population.
New York/New Jersey % Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Residents
38
Summary of Red Hook Demographics:
- Low Median Household Income - High Income Diversity - High Gross Rents - High % of Bachelor’s Degree - Large Family Sizes - High % Housing Vacancy - High % Stand-Alone Homes - High % 2-Unit Homes - Very High % 5 - 9-Unit Homes - Very High % Houses Built Before 1939 - Very High % Work at Home - Very High % State Government Workers - High Racial Diversity - High Caucasian, Hispanic, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander %
New York/New Jersey Summarization
39
Red Hook, NYC Storm Flooding
Red Hook will be nearly completely submerged in the next 100yr storm.
40
Red Hook, NYC Historic Ecosystems
The historic map shows that Red Hook was once a series of islands that were later infilled. This helps explain why the topography is so close to sea level and so drastically flooded in storms.
41
Red Hook, NYC Existing Housing and Economic Zones
The main economic corridor in Red Hook closely interacts with the existing housing, but a closer look shows that not all housing is the same.
42
Red Hook, NYC Data by Census Block
Census data shows a wide range of situations across Red Hook’s existing housing stock.
43
Red Hook, NYC 160 Imlay Development
High end housing at 160 Imlay looks over the Upper New York Harbor.
44
Red Hook, NYC King and Sullivan Townhouses
This trendy new townhouse development sold over half its units before opening.
45
Red Hook, NYC Red Hook Houses
To the East there is a very different story being told. Twenty-five affordable housing structures in four mega blocks.
46
Red Hook, NYC Street Snapshots
GRAFITTI
STAND-ALONE STRUCTURE
47
Red Hook, NYC Street Snapshots
PUBLIC SCHOOL
CHURCH
STREET ART
PLAYGROUND
BASKETBALL COURTS
PLAYGROUND
48
Red Hook, NYC Street Snapshots
PUBLIC SCHOOL
CHURCH
STREET ART
PLAYGROUND
BASKETBALL COURTS
PLAYGROUND
49
Red Hook, NYC Street Snapshots
STONEWORK
FISHING SUPPLY
SHORELINE VIEW
INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURE
GARDEN CENTER
FAIRWAY MARKET
EMPTY LOT ON THE COAST
INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY
IKEA
50
Red Hook, NYC Street Snapshots
PUBLIC SWIMMING POOL
PUBLIC PARK
STAND-ALONE STRUCTURE
WATER PARK
BASEBALL DIAMOND
RUNNING TRACK
51
Red Hook, NYC Street Snapshots
52
Red Hook, NYC Street Snapshots
SCHOOL BUS PARKING
INDUSTRIAL STORAGE
53
Red Hook, NYC Street Snapshots
COURTHOUSE
MOSQUE
CHURCH
54
Red Hook, NYC Street Snapshots
HEAD START LEARNING CENTER
55
Red Hook, NYC Health Services, Social Services, and Drainage Complaints
There are health and social services in place to successfully support the Red Hook neighborhood, but drainage clogs and malfunctions are a huge problem, especially along the main economic corridor.
56
Part of the success of this project will come down to the detail scale and the design of systems in Red Hook. DETAILS 57
Red Hook, NYC Storm Energy Flow
With smart planning, storm energy can be both mitigated and used until it reaches a managable scale.
58
Red Hook, NYC Health Services, Social Services, and Drainage Complaints
A section through the economic corridor shows both the extents of flooding the problems with drainage that plague this valuable zone.
59
Red Hook, NYC Flora and Fauna
This selection of indigenous flora and fauna will mitigate storm energy and improve the area’s ecological resiliency.
60
Red Hook, NYC What is a seawall?
To understand what a seawall could be, research needs to be done towards what a sewall is traditionally. Realizing the different scales and functions of seawalls will inform the new types of possibilities of storm protection.
61
Thermally Active Surfaces and SEWR System Kiel Moe and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Kiel Moe writes about the reinvented role of the building enclosure to heat and cool and promote low energy usage in architecture. Rather than heating with forced air, hydronic heating and thermal solar masses are much less energy intensive while providing a more even interior environment. The structure becomes the primary mechanical system for the building. The SEWR system (Solar Enclosure for Water Reuse), designed at RPI, is an example of a thermally active surface that uniquely interacts with sunlight to sanitize water that flows through it. The system allows for efficient natural hydronic heating, diffused natural lighting, and water filtering.
1. Rosenfield, Karissa. “Animated Film Envisions BIG’s Manhattan.” ArchDaily. February 17, 2015.
https://oliviasystems.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/moeactivesurface.jpg
2. Wainwright, Oliver. “Bjarke Ingels on the New York Dryline: ‘We Think of It as the Love-child of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs’” Theguardian.com. March 9, 2015.
http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/US20120234771A1/US20120234771A1-20120920-D00004.png
http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/US20120234771A1/US20120234771A1-20120920-D00007.png
62
Thermally Active Seawater System The thermal properties of the sea can be paired with a large scale drainage system that is desperately needed to serve the housing and economic structures in Red Hook.
63
Red Hook, NYC Existing Housing and Economic Zones
A field of planned ecologies will help to mitigate storm waters before the waves reach any type of solid infrastructures. Two protective ribbons are offset from the shoreline overlapping and intersecting with one another. The existing economic zones are stitched together in an Economic Ribbon. The Housing Ribbon is designed to beneficially interact with the economic zones as well as take advantage of the more foundationally solid historic island areas of the site.
64
Rockaway Rising Lateral Office Lateral Office contends that the “Rockaway Peninsula reveals little consideration of the relationship between building and landscape; in most cases built fabric abuts the beachscape with a hard, unyielding edge.”1 “Re-envisioning the relationship between city and beachscape, while enabling resiliency to varying storm-events, Rockaway Rising brings together issues of flood management, stormwater management, and energy generation, with programmatic strategies for recreation and small-scale economy to propose a more integrated notion of sustainability.” 1 By designing a modernized tool set of traditional building typologies for different terrain situations, Lateral Office quickly and efficiently designs a large site that responds to challenges of dynamic water conditions.
http://payload230.cargocollective.com/1/7/254933/6918035/10_Axo_built_form_1000.jpg
1. Lateral Office. “Rockaway Rising - For A Resilient Rockaway.” LateralOffice.com. October, 2013.
http://payload230.cargocollective.com/1/7/254933/6918035/15_Types_housing_1000.jpg
http://payload230.cargocollective.com/1/7/254933/6918035/15_Render_Aerial_alt2_1000.jpg
65
Red Hook, NYC Housing Typologies
The Junior Four
- a one-bedroom with four separate rooms — bedroom, kitchen, living room, and another small room
The One Bedroom
- at least two distinct rooms and a door that separates the bedroom from the living area
The Loft
The Penthouse
The Classic Six
The Duplex
- a large, open living space carved out in an old- - any apartment on the top floor of a building, er industrial building and it is a status symbol like no other in New York
The Railroad
- front door opens directly into the apartment, there is no hallway, and one room leads into another
The Garden Apartment
- a formal dining room, a living room, a kitchen, - two levels connected by a stairway that give - a shared or personal garden with a range of two bedrooms, and a “maid’s room” a sense of space and privacy even when there’s plans — two or three rooms laid out railroad style minimal square footage to four or five that offer more privacy
66
Red Hook, NYC Housing Typologies
The site’s relationship with water is an opportunity to explore new housing typologies the can be productive for residents and infrastructural systems while permitting the natural ecologies to flourish.
67
Red Hook, NYC Plan of Action
Next semester: - Design a diagram plan as a complete Red Hook strategy that reflects thesis prep site research - Design a diagramatic scheme for how to improve drainage - Zoom into a part of the overall diagram plan to show how structures interact with water and ecology while housing interacts with economy - 20 housing units that reflect the De Blasio economic bracket breakdown - 5 economic programs that can strengthen Red Hook’s incentivized economic corridor - Design the layout of natural ecologies in Red Hook to mitigate storm energy, filter water, and promote the growth of dwindling species in the region. - Design the details for how the sea provides an active surface for housing and economic structures in Red Hook
68
Red Hook, NYC Bibliography 1. Kahn, Brian. “Sea Levels Could Rise At Least 20 Feet.” ClimateCentral.com. July 9, 2015. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/sea-levels-rise-20-feet-1921 2. Kim, Kyle, and Thomas S. Lauder. “Infographic: 192 drought maps reveal just how thirsty California has become.” Los Angeles Times. September 4, 2015. http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-g-california-drought-map-htmlstory.html 3. Martin, Richard. “Quest to Mine Seawater for Lithium Advances.” MIT Technology Review. June 8, 2015. http://www.technologyreview.com/news/538036/quest-to-mine-seawater-for-lithium-advances/ 4. Megastructures. “Hoover Dam Reinvented.” Megastructures Season 3 Episode 4. 2010. 5. NOAA. “Drought - March 2015.” NOAA National Centers For Environmental Information. April 10, 2015. https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/drought/201503 6. Verhagen, Hendrik J. “Coastal Protection and Dune Management in the Netherlands.” Journal of Coastal Research. Volume 6, No. 1. Winter 1990. 169-179. 7. Jonkman, S. N., M. J. F. Stive and J. K. Vrijling. “New Orleans is a Lesson to the Dutch.” Journal of Coastal Research. Volume 21, No. 6. November 2005. xi,xii,1191. 8. Petroski, Henry. “Engineering: Hoover Dam.” American Scientist. Volume 81, No. 6. November - December 1993. 517-521. 9. Klijn, Frans, Michael van Buuren and Sabine A. M. van Rooij. “Flood-Risk Management Strategies for an Uncertain Future: Living with Rhine River Floods in the Netherlands.” Ambio. Volume 33, No. 3. May 2004. 141147. 10. Lee, Spike. “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts.” 2006. 11. Washburn, Alexandros. “The Nature of Urban Design: A New York Perspective on Resilience.” Island Press. Washington DC. 2013. 12. Chinn, Peter and Carolyn Davey. “Hurricane Katrina: Storm That Drowned a City.” National Geographic NOVA. Season 33 Episode 7. 2005. 13. Nye, David E., “American Technological Sublime.” The MIT Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1994. 14. Goodyear, Sarah. “Translating New York’s 15 Apartment Types.” NewYork.com. April 16, 2013. 15. Lateral Office. “Rockaway Rising - For A Resilient Rockaway.” LateralOffice.com. October, 2013.
69