the urban estuary: integrating city and nature
DESCRIPTION
Hudson Rail Yards - Manhattan Fall 2008 Studio: Integrating Theory & Practice Professors Peter Trowbridge, Deni Ruggeri & Andrea HammerTRANSCRIPT
The Urban Estuary
Hudson Rail Yards - Manhattan
Lee M. Pouliot
December 10, 2008
LA-602 - Trowbridge/Ruggeri/Hammer
integrating city and nature
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
Context / Interaction
Mid-town
Hudson Rail Yards
Theatre District Garment District Chelsea
Inventory
Hudson Rail Yards
View WestView East View South
Sun/Wind patterns
Green space/Water flow
Street grid
Site/High Line The High Line The High Line, a piece of
Manhattan’s industrial past
links a major portion of
Chelsea to Hudson Yards
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. N
“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
Research
Hudson Rail Yards
ecology + architecture = arcologyArcosanti, Arizona
Paolo Soleri
‘Ziggurat,’ Dubai
Timelinks
Auroville, India Habitat 67, Montreal
Moshe Safdie
X-Seed 4000, Tokyo
Taisei Constuction Corp.
‘Ultima’ Tower
Eugene Tsui
Concept
Hudson Rail Yards
The creation of an environment where natural and urban systems
depend and respond to one another.
Built Natural Dynamic
Flexible
Passive Growth
Passive Renewal
Cyclic
Rigid
Static
Active Growth
Degradation (Active Renewal)
Linear
Collision Social Nexus
Parti Development
Hudson Rail Yards
River estuary structure
Manhattan grid structure
Combination parti
+
Analysis
Hudson Rail Yards
Green space & Water flow
Pedestrian circulation
Vehicular circulation
Figure ground
Full sun / Moist - wet
Full sun / Dry - moist
Part sun / Moist - wet
Part sun / Dry - moist
Shade / Moist - wet
Shade / Dry - moist
Existing green space
Proposed green space
Proposed water flow
Plant regions
Existing green space
Proposed green space
Proposed water flow
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 natu-
ral. The result is the Urban Estuary.
N
Land UseRoof area Institutional / Office
Commercial
Cultural / ParkingResidential
Green space
Master Plan
Hudson Rail Yards
Buildings & Vegetation
Hudson Rail Yards
Rabobank - Utrecht, Netherlands
Kraaijvanger Urbis BV
Bestuursgebouw de Lens - Nieuwegein, Netherlands
Architectenbureau Jaco D. de Visser
Planting Concept: Natural form and function to controlled form and purpose
Shenyang Architectural University (Yu Kongjian) Greenhouse tomato production
0
200000
400000
600000
800000
1000000
1200000
1400000
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Val
ue ($
)
Possible Solar Generation
Consumption 5,000
Comsumption 10000
Hudson Rail Yards
Energy Production
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.
Power generation from wind turbines is yet another way to meet energy de-
mands 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
Hudson Rail Yards
Stormwater Usage
By ‘harvesting’ and keeping stormwater in a closed circuit of re-use within
buildings, pressure on existing water management practices can be re-
duced. When the ‘harvesting’ system is overloaded, bioswales leading to
the Hudson River can purify water before release into the natural system.
Green roof ‘strips’ can collect and filter stormwater
The Lanferbach
Schüngelberg Estate
Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Shenyang Architectural
University (Yu Kongjian)
Hudson Rail Yards
Perspective
City Park
Hudson Rail Yards
Perspective
City Park City ParkCity Park
Hudson Rail Yards
Perspective
Hudson Rail Yards
Beyond
“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