2015 su thesis prep document - jmarsh

1

James Marsh | Syracuse University Thesis 2015

Resilient Housing in Red Hook, Brooklyn

2

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

3

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 fac-es 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.

4

Mayor de Blasio’s NYC Housing Plan 2015Housing & 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 afford-able 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 econom-ic 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.

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. 1.

Glen, Alicia. “Housing New York: A Five-Borough, Ten-Year Plan.” The City of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio. 2015. 24.Glen, Alicia. “Housing New York: A Five-Borough, Ten-Year Plan.” The City of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio. 2015. 23.

5

Nearly one third of NYC residents are rent burdened because the city’s housing stock is not reaching its required demand.

6

STORM SURGES AND SEA LEVEL RISE

The edge of the city changes dramatically as water levels rise.

7

New York/New JerseyCurrent Sea Level

As the coastline begins to rise and transform...

8

New York/New JerseySea Level + 2’

... by two feet...

9


... four feet...

10


... six feet...

11


... eight feet...

12


... and even ten feet, which is comparable to the storm surges of Hurricane Sandy, NYC land mass is shrinking.

13

New York/New JerseyWater Quality

Problems of water quality that surround the city...

14

New York/New JerseyWater Quality Projected to +10 Sea Level

... will only become worse.

15

New York/New JerseyCurrent Speed and Direction

Studies of currents show that Red Hook forms the gateway for the East River.

16

CASE STUDIES

Experts have addressed these challenges of the city’s relationship with the sea.

17

New York/New JerseyRebuild by Design Winners

Competitions sought to address these types of inevitable problems.

18

New York/New JerseyRebuild by Design Winners

The West coast of Brooklyn was not directly addressed by the winners of the Rebuild by Design Competition.

19

New York/New JerseyRebuild by Design Winners with 10’ Sea Level Overlay

Some designs may or may not have take into account the future projected sea level rise.

20

The DrylineBjarke 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 ameni-ties.”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 func-tion. The massive master plan is imagined in phases that will increasingly become funded and over time more ef-fectively 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 to-wards the city’s relationship with the sea.

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.

http://weburbanist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/dryline-manhattan-park-view-644x386.jpeg

http://www.bustler.net/images/news2/the_dryline-3.jpghttps://microsolresources.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/dryline-proposal.jpg

21

Oyster-TectureSCAPE / 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-di-mensional 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.

2.“Oyster-Tecture | MoMA Rising Currents.” SCAPE/Landscape Architecture PLLC. scapestudio.com. 2010.

http://designapplause.com/wp-content/xG58hlz9/2014/12/oyster3.jpg

http://images.adsttc.com/media/images/55e8/937d/e258/4646/dc00/005f/large_jpg/dsc06223.jpg?1441305443http://www.archipelagos.co/mobile/files/gimgs/25_oyster-tecturewaveattenuation.jpg

22

Growing WaterChicago 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

23

GETTING TO KNOW RED HOOK

Research at the scale of the city reveals a set of unique situations in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

24

New York/New JerseyEconomic Incentive “Empire Zones”

The city has picked Red Hook as a zone of economic development within the city.

25

New York/New JerseyMedian Household Income

Household incomes are below average...

26

New York/New JerseyMedian Gross Rent

... while gross rent is well above average.

27

New York/New JerseyHousehold Income Diversity

Red Hook is home to a diverse range of economic situations.

28

New York/New JerseyAverage Family Size

Family sizes are relatively large.

29

New York/New Jersey% Vacant Housing Units

Red Hook holds a large percentage of vacant housing.

30

New York/New Jersey% Stand-Alone Homes

Sunset Park has stand-alone houses...

31

New York/New Jersey%2-Unit Structures

... and 2-Unit structures...

32

New York/New Jersey% 5 to 9 -Unit Housing

... while Red Hook is mostly 5 to 9-Unit housing.

33

New York/New Jersey% of Houses Built 1939 or Earlier

Most of which were built before 1939 and are aging.

34

New York/New JerseyUnemployment

Unemployment is low...

35

New York/New Jersey% Work at Home

... but the home can also be seen as the workplace.

36

New York/New Jersey% Caucasian Residents

Red Hook is home to a large relative percentage of caucasians...

37

New York/New Jersey% Hispanic Residents

... while Sunset Park has a larger percentage of Hispanic,...

38

New York/New Jersey% Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Residents

... Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander population.

39

New York/New JerseySummarization

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 %

40

Red Hook, NYCStorm Flooding

Red Hook will be nearly completely submerged in the next 100yr storm.

41

Red Hook, NYCHistoric 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.

42

Red Hook, NYCExisting Housing and Economic Zones

The main economic corridor in Red Hook close-ly interacts with the existing housing, but a closer look shows that not all housing is the same.

43

Red Hook, NYCData by Census Block

Census data shows a wide range of situations across Red Hook’s existing housing stock.

44

Red Hook, NYC160 Imlay Development

High end housing at 160 Imlay looks over the Upper New York Harbor.

45

Red Hook, NYCKing and Sullivan Townhouses

This trendy new townhouse devel-opment sold over half its units before opening.

46

Red Hook, NYCRed Hook Houses

To the East there is a very different story being told. Twenty-five affordable housing structures in four mega blocks.

47

Red Hook, NYCStreet Snapshots

STAND-ALONE STRUCTURE

GRAFITTI

48


PUBLIC SCHOOL

STREET ART

BASKETBALL COURTS PLAYGROUND

CHURCH

PLAYGROUND

49


PUBLIC SCHOOL

STREET ART

BASKETBALL COURTS PLAYGROUND

CHURCH

PLAYGROUND

50


STONEWORK

INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURE

EMPTY LOT ON THE COAST

FISHING SUPPLY

GARDEN CENTER

INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY

SHORELINE VIEW

FAIRWAY MARKET

IKEA

51


PUBLIC PARK

STAND-ALONE STRUCTURE

PUBLIC SWIMMING POOL

RUNNING TRACK

WATER PARK

BASEBALL DIAMOND

52


53


SCHOOL BUS PARKING

INDUSTRIAL STORAGE

54


COURTHOUSE MOSQUE CHURCH

55


HEAD START LEARNING CENTER

56

Red Hook, NYCHealth 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.

57

DETAILS

Part of the success of this project will come down to the detail scale and the design of systems in Red Hook.

58

Red Hook, NYCStorm Energy Flow

With smart planning, storm energy can be both mitigated and used until it reaches a managable scale.

59

Red Hook, NYCHealth 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.

60

Red Hook, NYCFlora and Fauna

This selection of indigenous flora and fauna will mitigate storm energy and improve the area’s ecological resiliency.

61

Red Hook, NYCWhat is a seawall?

To understand what a seawall could be, research needs to be done towards what a sewall is traditionally. Realizing the differ-ent scales and functions of seawalls will inform the new types of possibilities of storm protection.

62

Thermally Active Surfaces and SEWR SystemKiel 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.

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://oliviasystems.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/moeactivesurface.jpg

http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/US20120234771A1/US20120234771A1-20120920-D00007.pnghttp://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/US20120234771A1/US20120234771A1-20120920-D00004.png

63

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.

Thermally Active Seawater System

64

Red Hook, NYCExisting Housing and Economic Zones

A field of planned ecologies will help to mitigate storm waters before the waves reach any type of solid in-frastructures. Two protective ribbons are offset from the shoreline overlapping and intersecting with one anoth-er. 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 his-toric island areas of the site.

65

Rockaway RisingLateral Office

Lateral Office contends that the “Rockaway Peninsula reveals little consideration of the relationship between build-ing 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 de-signing 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.

1. Lateral Office. “Rockaway Rising - For A Resilient Rockaway.” LateralOffice.com. October, 2013.

http://payload230.cargocollective.com/1/7/254933/6918035/10_Axo_built_form_1000.jpg

http://payload230.cargocollective.com/1/7/254933/6918035/15_Render_Aerial_alt2_1000.jpghttp://payload230.cargocollective.com/1/7/254933/6918035/15_Types_housing_1000.jpg

66

Red Hook, NYCHousing 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- a large, open living space carved out in an old-

er industrial building

The Classic Six- a formal dining room, a living room, a kitchen,

two bedrooms, and a “maid’s room”

The Penthouse- any apartment on the top floor of a building,

and it is a status symbol like no other in New York

The Duplex- two levels connected by a stairway that give

a sense of space and privacy even when there’s minimal square footage

The Railroad- front door opens directly into the apartment, there is no hallway, and one room leads into

another

The Garden Apartment- a shared or personal garden with a range of

plans — two or three rooms laid out railroad style to four or five that offer more privacy

67

Red Hook, NYCHousing 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.

68

Red Hook, NYCPlan 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 inter-acts 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 mit-igate 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

69

Red Hook, NYCBibliography

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 be-come.” 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 Re-search. 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. 141-147.

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.

2015 su thesis prep document - jmarsh

Documents