The Urban Estuary: integrating city and nature

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