Infrastructure
‘ Stretching from West 57th Street south to The Battery and up to East 42nd Street , the Big U design protects 10 continuous miles of low-lying geography ’
BIG Chief Architect Bjarke Ingels explained the thinking : “ We asked ourselves : What if we could envision the resilience infrastructure for Lower Manhattan in a way that wouldn ’ t be like a wall between the city and the water , but rather a string of pearls of social and environmental amenities tailored to their specific neighbourhoods , that also happens to shield their various communities from flooding ? Social infrastructure understood as a big overall strategy rooted in the local communities .”
Stretching from West 57th Street south to The Battery and up to East 42nd Street , the Big U design protects 10 continuous miles of low-lying geography that comprises an extremely dense , vibrant , and vulnerable urban area .
Say the team : “ The Big U not only shields the city against floods and storm water ; but provides social and environmental benefits to the community , and fosters an improved public realm . The team envisions three compartments that function independently to provide flood protection .”
Each compartment comprises a visually subtle flood-protection zone that can be isolated from flooding in adjacent zones . At the same time ,
14 September 2014