Urban Edge: Landscape Corridor – Infrastructure as Public Space Along Red Hook’s Waterfront | Masters Design Project

Site Context

Located in Red Hook, Brooklyn, this project employs a double-axis design strategy to address site-specific conditions while encouraging the exploration of pedestrian circulation. It aligns with the broader city initiative to create a continuous waterfront landscape corridor, advancing this vision through piecemeal private development.

Programmatically, ‘Urban Edge’ contains (1) an industrial urban composting facility, (2) a commercial greenhouse, (3) a public greenhouse, (4) a public market hall, and (5) a culinary educational facility.

Design Process

For the students, this studio marked their initial exposure to a range of technical and contemporary approaches in design and construction. Collaborating as a team, they engaged in weekly meetings with three specialized consultants: Corey Wowk (Facade Construction), Rick Naumann (Structural Engineering), and Bob Kearns (MEP Systems). These sessions enabled them to develop their most in-depth project so far, incorporating concepts of facade systems, structural integrity, and HVAC design.

Final Outcome

A landscaped promenade runs along the shoreline, wrapping around the structure, extending into the water, and linking to a newly established ferry terminal. However, the primary focus of circulation occurs on the building’s green roof—a Möbius strip-like system of landscaped pathways that enables  ascend and descend almost every part of the building. This fluid circulation design invites the public to engage with typically restricted industrial processes, such as composting and urban agriculture, while also offering expansive views, including the Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty, and New York Harbor.

Sectionally, the building explores ideas of synergy between the four programs. The process begins in the market hall, where food waste generated by vendors and patrons is collected and transported to the composting facility. There, both the market’s waste and additional organic material from the surrounding neighborhood are processed through multiple stages to create nutrient-rich soil.

The resulting compost is transported via a conveyor belt to both the public and commercial greenhouses, where it is used to grow produce. In addition, the composting process generates excess heat, which is mechanically captured and redirected to help regulate temperatures within the greenhouses. In the commercial greenhouse, the compost supports the growth of produce like lettuce and microgreens, which are later sold by vendors in the market hall below. Meanwhile, in the public greenhouse, the compost and redirected heat are used to grow native aquatic plants, which are eventually released into the harbor once fully developed.

The building functions as an integrated system, with each component supporting and enhancing the others. It sustains itself by reusing internal resources while also accepting excess food waste from the surrounding community. In turn, it contributes to the local ecosystem by cultivating and releasing native wildlife along the adjacent coastline.

Conclusion: Ultimately, the project creates a self-sustaining system that links ecology, community, and architecture, transforming waste into resources and reconnecting the neighborhood with its waterfront.

[This Academic Project has been published with text and images submitted by the student]