Amphibious New York

Wall Street, New York City

Cal Poly Thesis Project, Fall 2011 - Spring 2012

Thesis Abstract:

The collision of water and cities should be seen as an opportunity... not a threat. Instead of waiting for severe floods we should adapt our cities to allow for continued and improved living during disasters. 

The reality is that a majority of the world’s metropolises are located in a flood-prone context. It does not make sense to wait for 100-year floods when they are occurring on a more frequent schedule. Instead of designing for architecture to occupy a moment in time, which most projects do, we should see the flooded condition of a site as fundamental to our design process. As students – we are often presented with the site as a given. With this attitude we tend to neglect the fleeting past and intangible future of place in our focus on the present.

There are several approaches to lessening the effects of the rising sea level, from natural land buffers to man-made levees. None of these precautions will keep water out of our cities. Water is literally a force of nature that we have been battling since the beginning of civilization. Perhaps it is time to take a cue from Venice and stop fighting. We have the ability to use the power, beauty and potential of water to our advantage.

PHASE 01: sea level rise - rapid ice melt

Preliminary sea level rise will not have an effect on the majority of the city. At first the coastline will drastically change. By blending topography and bathymetry the city can allow water to enter New York on its own terms. A combination of hard and soft infrastructure mitigate the effects of sea level rise and storm surges. The Wall Street Inlet creates a point of least resistance, directing water away from buildings, while the surrounding marshlands serve as a buffer.  

PHASE 02: category 3 hurricane*

With the loss of ground floor program there are alternative methods of replacing the public open space, restaurants, cafes, sidewalks, and building entry ways. In the absence of these key elements of the daily function of the city the relationship between New Yorker and New York must be altered. Mobile Spatial Mediators, in the form of shipping containers, help to do this while maintaining functionality.

PHASE 03: long term glacial ice melt

New York City’s subway system is already faced with regular flooding during storms. Leading up to and following major storms the subway system is often shut down for several days. Most recently in August 2011, Hurricane Irene disrupted the transportation system.

* Super Storm Sandy of October 2012 devastated New York City.