The Urban Estuary integrating city and nature Hudson Rail Yards - Manhattan
Lee M. Pouliot December 10, 2008 LA-602 - Trowbridge/Ruggeri/Hammer
Context / Interaction Hudson Rail Yards
Mid-town
Theatre District
Garment District
Chelsea
The Hudson Rail Yards represent one of the last large scale, under-developed sites in Manhattan.
While located at the nexus of four neighborhoods, the rail yards also connect the city to what remains of ‘wild nature:� the Hudson River
Sun/Wind patterns
Inventory Hudson Rail Yards
Green space/Water flow
View East
View West
View South
Natural systems are confined and controlled by Manhattan’s grid. Stormwater is conducted to sewers then to treatment plants, while possible energy inputs from the sun and wind remain untapped.
The High Line
The High Line, a piece of Manhattan’s industrial past links a major portion of Chelsea to Hudson Yards
Street grid
Site/High Line
N
Research Hudson Rail Yards
ecology + architecture = arcology
Arcosanti, Arizona Paolo Soleri
‘Ziggurat,’ Dubai Timelinks
Auroville, India
X-Seed 4000, Tokyo Taisei Constuction Corp.
‘Ultima’ Tower Eugene Tsui
“In nature, as an organism evolves it increases in complexity and it also becomes a more compact or miniaturized system. Similarly a city should function as a living system. Arcology, architecture and ecology as one integral process, is capable of demonstrating positive response to the many problems of urban civilization, population, pollution, energy and natural resource depletion, food scarcity and quality of life. Arcology recognizes the necessity of the radical reorganization of the sprawling urban landscape into dense, integrated, three-dimensional cities in order to support the complex activities that sustain human culture. The city is the necessary instrument for the evolution of humankind.” - Paolo Soleri
Habitat 67, Montreal Moshe Safdie
Concept Hudson Rail Yards Natural
Built
Rigid Static Active Growth Degradation (Active Renewal) Linear
Dynamic Flexible Passive Growth Passive Renewal Cyclic
Collision Social Nexus
The creation of an environment where natural and urban systems depend and respond to one another.
Parti Development Hudson Rail Yards
River estuary structure
+
Combination parti
Manhattan grid structure
Analysis
Plant regions
Full sun / Moist - wet Full sun / Dry - moist Part sun / Moist - wet Part sun / Dry - moist
Hudson Rail Yards Analysis of the parti diagram reveals where natural and built form & process interact. This interaction creates an environment where the natural informs the built and the built informs the natural. The result is the Urban Estuary.
Shade / Moist - wet Shade / Dry - moist
Green space & Water flow
Existing green space Proposed green space Proposed water flow
Pedestrian circulation Existing green space Proposed green space Proposed water flow
Vehicular circulation
Figure ground
N
Roof area
Land Use
Institutional / Office
Green space
Commercial
Residential
Cultural / Parking
Master Plan Hudson Rail Yards
Buildings & Vegetation Hudson Rail Yards
Planting Concept: Natural form and function to controlled form and purpose Shenyang Architectural University (Yu Kongjian) Greenhouse tomato production
Rabobank - Utrecht, Netherlands Kraaijvanger Urbis BV Bestuursgebouw de Lens - Nieuwegein, Netherlands Architectenbureau Jaco D. de Visser
Energy Production Hudson Rail Yards Power generation from wind turbines is yet another way to meet energy demands without the use of fossil fuels. By positioning buildings perpendicular to general wind direction, rooftop wind turbines can supplement the site’s energy supply. Aerotecture - 510V Aeroturbine Chicago, Illinois
At completion, the Hudson Yards master plan includes 227,150 square feet of roof surface. By maximizing solar exposure, an extensive photovoltaic system could account for the site’s energy demands while contributing clean energy to Manhattan’s grid.
1400000 1200000
Value ($)
1000000 800000
Possible Solar Generation Consumption 5,000
600000
Comsumption 10000 400000 200000 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Stormwater Usage Green roof ‘strips’ can collect and filter stormwater
Hudson Rail Yards By ‘harvesting’ and keeping stormwater in a closed circuit of re-use within buildings, pressure on existing water management practices can be reduced. When the ‘harvesting’ system is overloaded, bioswales leading to the Hudson River can purify water before release into the natural system.
Shenyang Architectural University (Yu Kongjian)
The Lanferbach Schüngelberg Estate Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Perspective Hudson Rail Yards City Park
Perspective Hudson Rail Yards
City Park
City Park
City Park
Perspective Hudson Rail Yards
Beyond Hudson Rail Yards
“The problem I am confronting is the present design of cities only a few stories high, stretching outward in unwieldy sprawl for miles...� - Paolo Soleri