Hunts Point Phase Two: Multiuse Facility
introduction
This Project is part of the culmination of the Second Phase of the Hunts Point Community Investment Project (HPCIP). The designers were in charged of the schematic design for the Bronx River Greenway multi-use maintenance facility. This was one of three amenities decided during the HPCIP community workshop. A subsequent consultation workshop was held with community groups to hear their opinions and wishes for site locations and multi-use programs for the new facility. The outcome from the workshop, as well as, subsequent interviews guided the development of the schematic design.
building program
Three conceptual organizational schemes were discussed during the workshop illustrating different options for the greenway maintenance facility and operations.
Centralized: a facility with all activities concentrated in one building, including administration and equipment storage.
Decentralized: a scheme proposes a facility subdivided into secondary facilities located at a particular distance from the greenway. Each of the secondary facilities would be programmed according the area they would serve.
Network Configuration: proposes one Maintenance and Operations facility connected to a series of diverse satellite type of structures located along the greenway. The satellites could include equipment sheds and storage within existing buildings, temporary or open air structures.
A conceptual diagram with the maintenance required activities was presented during the workshop, listing the indoor spaces, which included the administrative, operational, activities shared with the park. The diagram also described activities related to outdoor spaces, such as a plant nursery and maintenance yards.
possible building sites
During the consultation workshop, there was a clear consensus among all participants that the new facility should be located with proximity to the water and the Bronx River Greenway. Other community members emphasized the need of creating a "destination" within the Hunts Point Peninsula. Taking in account the amount of visitors to Barretto Point Park, as well as the future amenities such as, the floating pool at Tiffany Pier and the streetscape project for Viele Ave. and Ryawa Ave. the Barretto Bay site was considered as the most desirable location for the new multi-use maintenance facility.
DESIGN scheme
Since the project has no formal site, the design was based on creating a prototypical building that could be superimposed onto a number of possible sites with different conditions. The prototype also considers allowance for phasing the construction of the new facility. The scheme proposes a building organized along a spine which serves as an interior street. This street allows access to the maintenance vehicles during working hours while also integrating into the Bronx River Greenway’s bicycle and pedestrian network. This multi-functioning street provides a space for the development of several public events such as green markets, street fairs, etc. One of the sides of the street is enclosed with a vertical farming structure that has spaces for commercial concessions that support these public activities. The maintenance and operations activities are strategically plugged to the interior street to allow visibility and permeability inside and outside the building. Parking, storages, lockers rooms and workshops are located in the ground floor for easy maneuvering, with administrative offices and training rooms in the second floor.
participants
The process of consultation and the amenity options being tested for feasibility as part of Phase II of the Hunts Point Community Investment Project were undertaken by Urban Practitioners, AQC Architect with Alessandro Cimini, Anthony Crusor, Ignacio Lamar & Mateo Pintó, Weisz + Yoes Studio and Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects on behalf of Bronx Community Board 2 and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection. With the participation of Rocking the Boat, The Point CDC, Sustainable South Bronx, Hunts Point Alliance for Children, NYC EDC, the Office of Congressman Serrano among many other residents of the Hunts Point Peninsula.
