GI: GATEWAY

from Architecture Portfolio 2023

BKLYN NAVY YARD: FRACTURE WTE + RECYCLING CENTER + A.I.R

Re-Imagining Access to Governors Island

This project centered on the question: “How to protect Governors Island and make it ‘Floodproof’?”. When one hears the word “Floodproof” they think of strategies to mitigate rising sea levels and storm surge. While those instinctive assumptions are not wrong, the idea of making something “Floodproof” can also center on the idea of accessibility. The more someone cares about something, the more likely they are to take care of it. Therefore, our project chose to first increase accessibility to Governors Island by means other than ferry.

Currently GI is only accessible through ferry - vehicle, bike, or pedestrian access does not exist. Intriguing to our group however, was the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel Ventilation Shaft, located near the north end of the Island. The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel runs from Lower Manhattan to Sunset Park in Brooklyn, with the ventilation shaft at its center point.

The project proposed to use the ventilation shaft as a key access point into Governors Island, by phasing out vehicle usage in the tunnels, to eventually be purely utilized for bike, pedestrian, and automated electric buses. In addition to re-purposing the tunnels, the shaft itself could be converted into a new space. Without CO2 emissions from vehicles, the machinery required to ventilate the shaft could be reduced and therefore free up space for a bike storage/ repair facility and performance theater.

Re-Imaging access to Governors Island, and designing a cultural attractor, would be the first step in making the Island “Floodproof”.

Existing

Ventilation Shaft Section e. Section - The machinery currently in the shaft could be reduced as CO2 emissions would not be as high due to the elimination of vehicle usage. Therefore, the interior of the shaft could be re-purposed to house, bike storage, and a performance theater, to act as a cultural attractor to the Island.