Archinect - News

Preparing New York City for the next storm

2020-06-29T15:41:00-04:00

June marks the start of hurricane season on the Atlantic Ocean. Even amidst the ravages of a novel coronavirus and state violence, the perils posed by a heating planet are not going away. If the city turned out to be woefully underprepared for a pandemic, what about measures to protect against storms and floods?

Amy Howden-Chapman, co-founder of the climate change and arts platform The Distance Plan, takes a closer look at a variety of climate impact interventions at New York City's most endangered stretches of coastline: from Lower Manhattan and the Lower East Side, Red Hook, Rockaway Boardwalk, all the way to Sunset Cove Park at Jamaica Bay.

"[...] new infrastructures of defense — some military in provenance, some providing a softer transition to higher waters — are already transforming daily life," Howden-Chapman writes in her piece for Urban Omnibus.

They've been waiting patiently

2015-03-14T15:11:00-04:00

"Do you have any skills?...You don't need to have any skills to come volunteer...this is still a story".

Jordan Klepper investigates a story of reconstruction in Staten Island. Two and a half years post-Sandy, four locals offer criticism of the NYC Build it Back program. He then chats with Enrique Norten about Mercedes House, a recent TEN Arquitectos project (totaling 1.2 million square feet) in Manhattan, completed in approximately three years. The role of dreaded "bureaucracy" is then referenced and Alana Tornello (a Disaster Recovery Coordinator) urges folks to volunteer and not forget.

For an alternative view of the topic; check out Weathering the Storm: Rebuilding a More Resilient New York City Housing Authority Post-Sandy released by The Alliance for a Just Rebuilding.

Facing the realities of climate change: Staten Island's complicated strategy of Managed Retreat

2015-02-13T15:07:00-05:00

Living at land’s edge has always come with a certain amount of risk: storms coming off the ocean can be violent and proximity to water always carries with it a possibility of getting wet. [...] in three communities on Staten Island, a New York State program to encourage managed retreat through homeowner buyouts has elicited strong interest and vocal support.

The Anatomy of Emergency

2014-12-10T14:33:00-05:00

Of all the roles of government, emergency response may be the least controversial. When disaster hits, we expect our fire, police, and other public services to provide immediate relief. But as James McConnell, Assistant Commissioner for Strategic Data at the New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM), reminds us, tactical effectiveness in a crisis requires more than boots on the ground, ready at a moment’s notice.

The key...is not more money

2014-11-17T21:52:00-05:00

"We need to retreat, especially intellectually...from the idea that we can keep on building anywhere we want. New Yorkers are tough. They can take whatever nature throws their way. But you just can’t grow forever at the expense of the sea" - Professor Ted Steinberg

Going beyond the more well known and singular, such as U.S. HUD's Rebuild By Design competition, Alan Feuer, Greg Moyer and Melanie Burford highlight various more quotidian infrastructural and planning efforts underway. With an eye toward not just rebuilding but resilience, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Con Edison are spending approximately $1 billion (each) on resiliency improvements over the next few years. Meanwhile, initiatives such as New York Rising or the Business Resiliency Investment Program seek to build community/civic capacity. Yet, others argue that NYC will always be vulnerable, as a result of our own "environmental machismo".

Report highlights vulnerability of Amtrak’s NYC tunnels

2014-10-02T13:49:00-04:00

A new engineering report assessing the damage caused to the Amtrak-owned Hudson River and East River tunnels in New York City by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012 recommends a phased process of maintenance works, which will require taking individual tunnel tubes out of service for extended periods.

Anti-Fragile: The Uncertain Future of Arverne East

2014-04-16T12:45:00-04:00

Superstorm Sandy brought the Rockaways into the forefront of New Yorkers’ consciousness for a period of time, [...] subsequently as a key reference point in debates about rebuilding versus retreating from the flood zone. [...] The last of these sites is Arverne East, 81 acres of City-owned land that have remained vacant since the neighborhood was razed in 1969. Below, Jonathan Tarleton and Gabriel Silberblatt consider Arverne East’s uncertain future.

White Arkitekter wins “For a Resilient Rockaway” (FAR ROC) Design Competition

2013-10-23T17:45:00-04:00

Breaking news from New York City today: the team of Swedish firm White Arkitekter has won the two-phase "For a Resilient Rockaway" (FAR ROC) design competition at the Arverne East site in the Rockaways. [...] The winning team also included members from ARUP and Gensler.

Previously: For a Resilient Rockaway (FAR ROC) Design Competition Finalists

Flood Proof Loos

2013-03-13T00:38:00-04:00

When Hurricane Sandy wiped out the lifeguard stations and public bathrooms on many of New York City’s beaches, the city found itself in a bind. How could it rebuild these necessary facilities in time for the summer of 2013?

Loos on stilts, modular shiny boxes, what more could beach goers in NYC ask for?