Urban Farm - Sustainably Repurposed  NYC Harlem Pier

Sustainably repurposing urban piers.
Proposed for the decommissioned NYC Department of Sanitation Marine Transfer Station pier, this community center for Harlem and Nourishing NYC is both an urban farm and transportation hub.  Situated on the New York City's Hudson River Greenway, Harlem Piers Farm, with outdoor gardens, an all-weather greenhouse and barn is a community farm and educational center. The cafe and pedestrian plaza offer a relaxing place to take in the view for or those arriving by foot, bicycle, small boat, water taxi or bus and is conveniently accessed from NY's west side.  Harlem Piers Farm is a working example for the community of all encompassing sustainability -  growing food, collecting its own irrigation water, and generating its own electricity and hot water.

View corridor, Greenway connectivity and sustainably reused material.
The greenway entrance is conceived as a multifunction community hub. It houses bicycle rental and parking, the cafe with beautiful views of the river, and a covered walkway to the farm and water taxi station. The see through walkway and glass-walled cafe frame a broad view corridor to the Hudson River and New Jersey beyond, unobstructed by the farm's low profile garden and single story building with a long axis perpendicular to the shore.

The entrance structure, walkway, pier greenhouse and barn (rear left in above image) all incorporate extensive use of reused New York State barn timbers and siding. The interior ceiling and both sides of the external walls are paneled with the reused barn siding. Primary materials are simply solar panels, reused barn wood and glass.

Harvesting vegetables, water, daylight, views and solar energy.
As the new headquarters for Nourishing NYC, this interactive community site is an urban farm with community garden and nutritious food programs. The Barn includes offices, workspace, kitchens, storage and demonstration areas.  In addition to vegetables, Harlem Piers Farm harvests solar energy for electricity and hot water, daylight, and rainwater for irrigation. The greenhouse roof funnels rainwater to a central storage tank. The barn roof exterior is fabricated from PV and thermal solar panels and includes skylights for daylighting. The vegetable gardens, greenhouse and barn are oriented to maximize solar exposure in all seasons for both farming and solar energy capture. Abundant greenhouse glass harvests both view and light.

Farming a New York City pier.
With plenty of daylight and rainwater, this NYC Hudson River pier ideally repurposes to a year round community farm. With a three season outdoor garden and four season greenhouse, twelve month community interaction and programming can be provided. Harvesting and storing its own rainwater provides a constant irrigation source, while the solar paneled roof generates electricity and hot water. Harlem Piers Farm offers an working example of sustainable architectural design, as well as operational cost savings.

Site Area:  approximately 54,400sf (5,054sm)
Building Footprint: 29,250sf (2,717sm)
Vegetable Garden & Greenhouse: 1/2 acre (.2 hectare)
Program:  Nourishing NYC headquarters, Community Gardens, Cafe, Bike Rental, Water Taxi Station and Community hub.
Sustainable Design Features: Building Integrated PV and Solar Thermal panels, rainwater collection and storage, daylight Illumination, reuse of local barn wood.
Annual Output Capability: 270,000 kWh
Annual Rainwater Capture Capability: 140,000 gallons