Infrastructuring Nature: Appropriating the Industrial Ruins of New York City
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In his essay Nature, Infrastructure and Cities, Antoine Picon writes, “Before the rise of the environmental crises we now face, nature served as the support for infrastructures. Roads, bridges and canals were generally located in natural settings. However, in our contemporary technologically driven world, nature increasingly appears as a fragile entity that is itself in need of infrastructure support.”
New York has been the melting pot for architectural experimentation and innovation as well as the home to many industrial settings and infrastructures that are no longer operative. This, along with the more environmentally conscious approach architects are enforcing, has led to the appropriation of many of these settings fused with natural elements. These seven architectural projects showcase new, intuitive ways of “infrastructuring nature” by repurposing old industrial systems to create a “greener” New York City. As Antoine Picon points out, nature will never be prevalent in current metropolitan cities, nor will it be sustainable without artificial support. Nevertheless, the damage of overdevelopment is not irreversible as long as there are projects that recognize the hidden opportunities of these forgotten industrial ruins.
High Line
By James Corner Field Operations & Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Manhattan, New York, United States
Jury Winner, 2014, A+Awards, Concepts – Architecture + Light
How can an abandoned railroad be reused by the citizens of New York City? Connecting the Meatpacking District with the Hudson Railyards, 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) of elevated rail tracks have been transformed into the High Line project: a public park that stands as an agricultural oasis amidst the franticness of the big city. Prior to the project’s realisation, the deserted railroad had already been “reclaimed” by nature. Consequently, when James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro designed the High Line they celebrated these natural diversities, by employing the strategy of “agri-tecture”. Irregular paving patterns and planting beds form a series of asymmetrical pathways, allowing the people of New York to experience the city through a different, more impromptu, type of lens.
Terminal Warehouse
By COOKFOX Architects, Manhattan, New York, United States
Built in 1891, the Terminal Warehouse is an iconic post-industrial ruin of New York. No longer needing the traditional warehouse in West Chelsea district, the Terminal Warehouse is gradually being transformed into a collection of biophilic office spaces. As part of their design strategy, COOKFOX Architects have preserved the building’s historic architectural typology and used its masonry structure as an infrastructure for supporting a series of gardens and green terraces. Additionally, through a set of rail tracks, the Terminal Warehouse is directly linked with Hudson river. The disregarded railroad becomes an opportunity for reuse and is transformed into a pedestrian route that reestablishes the link between city and water.
Governors Island Park and Public Space
By West 8, Manhattan, New York, United States
Jury Winner, 2017, A+Awards, Public Park
Photo by Iwan Baan
Photo by Noah Devereaux
Infrastructure comes in all shapes and sizes. The Governors Island, located south of Manhattan, is a piece of land that has been repurposed countless times. From an unspoiled landscape to a military base to a hotel and racetrack, the island was expanded through artificial means to host a number of contradicting functions. Finally, in 2006, West 8 won the competition for creating a masterplan that transforms the island into a public destination and landmark. They designed a historic park, a plethora of public spaces and a large promenade that wraps around the island. Nowadays, Governors Island has formed a symbiotic relationship with the New York harbor, eventually becoming its natural extension.
F.R.E.D., Fostering Resilient Ecological Development
By Ennead Architects, Queens, New York, United States
Jury Winner, 2017, A+Awards, Unbuilt Masterplan
Located in a beach-front site in the Rockaways, the F.R.E.D. proposal introduces a new type of pairing between nature and infrastructure. Ennead Architects used the iconic Row House typology and the local sand dunes as the two components for designing a resilient infrastructure system. Their aim was to create a flexible strategy, which could be easily repurposed for other waterfront sites with the same characteristics and expand upon the research on “infrastructuring nature”.
Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park
By SWA/Balsley & WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism, Queens, New York, United States
For two hundred years, Hunter’s Point was a series of wetlands on the East river. Later on, the site was turned into an industrial hub and rail station. Eventually, it was diminished to a post-industrial ruin filled with decaying piers and steep landfills, inaccessible to the wider public. Finally, in 2018 it became one of the most transformative and ecologically driven projects in the city. A coastal park, a footbridge, a cantilevered overlook and even a landfill peninsula transformed what used to be an empty industrial site into an adaptable infrastructural system that reinvented the once iconic water edge.
Pier 35
By SHoP Architects, Manhattan, New York, United States
Enclosed by the Hudson and East rivers, the island of Manhattan is naturally surrounded by many raw, uninviting concrete piers. Fortunately, the Pier 35 proposal transformed one of these flat blocks of artificial land into a much needed esplanade project. Pier 35 is literary “infrastructuring nature”. It consists of a folded landscape that gradually slopes down to the surface of the water. Its crinkled form interacts with the varying tidal currents, while replicating the physical characteristics of the East river shoreline. Above the water, a series of landscape lawns, dunes and inclined plant-covered screens form pedestrian walkways filled with vantage points towards Brooklyn and Manhattan bridge.
The Dryline
By Rebuild by Design & BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, Manhattan, New York, United States
Jury Winner, 2015, A+Awards, Masterplan
Also known as “The Big U,” this conceptual 10-mile-long (16 kilometer) protective ribbon around Manhattan was imagined in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. Ultimately, it was deemed unfit to respond to the challenging weather conditions that increasingly threaten the city. Subsequently, the Dryline is a project that redesigns lower Manhattan’s water edge, proposing a series of components that will aid to both the physical and social infrastructure requirements of the neighboring districts. More specifically, the project consist of a continuous protective element that also operates as playful street furniture, an elevated pathway and finally, a series of overarching greenways. In short, the Dryline project has essentially become the blueprint for effectively designing social as well as physical infrastructure strategies for coastal cities, providing new insights for “infra structuring nature” practices.
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Situated in the vibrant art village of Songzhuang, this park was specifically designed to cater to the diverse needs of both artists and the local population. Color plays a pivotal role in capturing attention and creating an inviting atmosphere within the park.
PopCourts is a vibrant pop-up park in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood that served as an outdoor haven during the pandemic. It exemplifies the transformative power of community, collaboration and innovative design in revitalizing underutilized spaces. Color plays a central role in PopCourts, reflecting the neighborhood’s energy and cultural identity. The bold color palette creates an engaging backdrop for community events. Divided into three zones, the park offers versatile spaces. The basketball court doubles as a community plaza, while the gravel drive hosts food trucks and vendors. The shaded lawn becomes a food court with seating. Artwork, including murals of influential figures and a Pop Art theme, unifies the space and celebrates the community’s history.
The Paint Drop project is a visually captivating public space intervention that effectively utilizes color to create a noticeable, attractive and vibrant environment. The primary goal of the installation was to draw attention to a newly opened retail space and entice pedestrians to explore it. To achieve this, a tunnel of splashing color paint was designed as the central theme.
The Face to Face/Tête à Tête project is a charming installation that creates a space for shared conversation along a 44-foot (13-meter) roadway. Featuring two remarkably long tables accompanied by continuous benches and surrounded by lush greenery, its design stands out. Yet, what truly distinguishes this project is its brilliant utilization of color.
As an urban intervention within an open-air Retail Street, the Puzzle Maze project aims to transform a privately-owned public space into an engaging and lively area. To create an innovative kids’ playground that surpasses traditional expectations, the marketing team of Life Hub @ Daning sought to turn a stagnant pedestrian street into an attractive and bustling space.
Once a cargo loading dock, this space within the historic manufacturing complex has been reborn as a vibrant and diverse landscape, breathing new life into the old factory. Serving as a vital public green space for over 600 creative businesses and the local community, Courtyard 5-6 stands apart from the surrounding buildings with its captivating colors and an array of design elements.
This elegant tennis facility is defined by white concrete and cantilevered slabs in Spain. The complex includes a total of seventeen courts of all surfaces, from grass to clay. The topography of the land called for a terracing strategy in order to place the different courts at different levels following the slope of the hill. As a result, the team set out to design the building as a continuation of that terracing: as seen in section, multiple floating terraces overlook the tennis compound. The Centre Court is the heart of the project. A series of terraces are carved in the hill create a natural stone stadium to seat up to 1500 spectators.
In Strasbourg, the idea was to create a new tennis hall building for three covered tennis courts and and a new club house. The design is directly inspired by people and how they flow in and through the building. Inside, sky domes and a special color treatment on the floor was chosen to increase day light. Areas where natural light falls were treated with a beige resin, while the room borders and corners are treated with a deep orange resin. The soaring roof forms and domes are readily seen in section, and how the building compares in scale to adjacent structures.
The Glen Lake Community Schools project was made with three components: a new bus garage; new team rooms for home team and visitor teams for soccer and softball; and a new tennis complex with a gateway building. The floor plan drawing for the team rooms showcases how the pavilion structures were organized and designed, emphasizing connection to the outdoors and with a series of welcoming overhangs. By opening to natural light, using natural materials like glulam beams, and the use of insulated roof panels, the team wanted to highlight the uniqueness of the Glen Lake community and its commitment to the natural environment and energy efficiency.
GLUCK+ designed the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning as a multi-use facility. The complex is where underserved youth in New York City can receive free tennis lessons and academic help. As the flagship site for New York Junior Tennis & Learning, the center was made to host local, national and international tournaments. Sited in the natural parkland of Crotona Park, the project included a clubhouse, public tennis courts, and sunken exhibition courts. The building and stadium courts were partially buried as a strategy to minimize the impact of a large structure in the park and also to take advantage of geothermal heating and cooling.
This temple to tennis was built in Switzerland. As seen in the drawings, the 
Adjacent to the court, this guest house is located within the grounds of an existing family beach house in a secluded coastal setting. The client required a guest house that would embrace the native landscape while establishing its own identity distinct from the existing house. The team’s design concept was to create a building as a landscape element that forms a backdrop to the existing tennis court and is nestled within the surrounding vegetation. A rectilinear timber pavilion was built with weathered grey cladding and climbers growing up over the walls to give the appearance of a simple timber fence within the landscape.
MVRDV’s famous Couch project was built in IJburg, a new district to the east of Amsterdam. The newly formed IJburg Tennis Club included ten clay courts and a tennis school. The clubhouse was made to be the heart of the center, providing both a viewing platform and a club overlooking the water. The challenge was to create a building that worked as a central gathering area, a living room for IJburg. The result is a clubhouse with a roof dipping down towards the south and raised towards the north, creating an informal tribune for the club. Inside, the construction is clad with FSC-certified wood, with the outside fully sealed with an EPDM polymer hotspray in the same color and texture as the clay tennis courts.
According to figures published by the Los Angeles Homeless Services in 2022, LA County has the largest homeless population in the US — with almost 70,000 people in urgent need of housing. Completed in 2021, the Council 8 District Navigation Center was designed to offer assistance and some degree of security for those living on the streets of the city’s southwestern neighborhoods.
Libraries are one of the few remaining spaces we can spend time in without the obligation to spend money. SPOL Architects’ concept for a new São Francisco Library in São Paulo is a prime example of how these institutions need to be adapted to continue playing such a vital role. The focal point of Brazilian democracy and justice, the existing facility has gradually expanded into an untenable, confusing and unwelcoming muddle.
In 1921, a white mob destroyed the historic Tulsa district of Black Wall Street, killing and injuring thousands in an act of racially-motivated violence. Finished 100 years later, Greenwood Rising is a 10,000 square foot exhibition center honoring the memory of the victims, and challenging visitors to consider ideas around oppression, resilience, equality and justice through four adjoining areas.
Commissioned by the NGO Kids of Kathmandu, MESH used a sustainable approach to construction for this school building located on the hills outside the Nepalese city. Relatively simple in design — just three classrooms, one computer room, and a library — nevertheless it shows how much can be delivered with limited resources, a very tight budget and scarcity of materials.
Mexico’s Texcoco Lake basin is dominated by Mexico City, and the mega-metropolis has had a stark impact on the area. Extensive draining has wreaked havoc, leading to frequent water shortages, subsidence, loss of habitat and species decline. Parque Ecológico Lago de Texcoco looks to reclaim 35,000 acres of marshland to form the world’s largest urban park in a bid to reverse some of that damage.
GHETTO is a theoretical project addressing Venice’s biggest problem: tourism. Wresting economic control from visitors, and handing it to the city’s largely overlooked refugee community, Henriquez Partners’ design was developed with the UNHCR and ECC, and is highly controversial. Simply put, it involves building eco homes for 1,000 people fleeing war and persecution with money from the sale of timeshares owned by wealthy foreigners.
Aloni is also a house that trails the landscape. Still, in this case, the land is not raw or uninhabited, but rather a product of rural conversion practices. Following the agricultural motifs of the past, Deca Architecture employs a series of techniques such as carving, sinking and the use of existing retaining walls. They create a semi-artificial landscape that blurrs the edges between the natural and artificial ground morphology.
Located in a shallow Peloponnesian slope, KHI is a house full of contradictions. Playing with height as well as enclosure, LASSA Architects have merged courtyards, unrestricted roofs, underground gallery spaces, and sunbathed rooms all within a single rippling wall. The wall gradually sinks into the ground, continuously reframing the two functions of the house: the residence and the art space. It becomes an animating apparatus that shifts the landscape conditions around KHI House, gently integrating it with the immediate terrain.
Built only a couple of miles away from Athens’s dense urban setting, House 6 ° celebrates the unspoiled nature of its setting. Emerging from the ground, the white solid structure compliments the incline of the adjacent hill. House 6 °separates its functional spaces into underground private areas, illuminated by a series of skylights, and common areas above the ground, strategically positioned towards the surrounding countryside views.
Villa Ypsilon is one of the most radical “yposkafo” residences, found inside a Peloponnesian olive grove. Instead of digging into the landscape, its design manipulates the ground’s surface, shifting it to a higher level. The roof of the villa becomes an integral part of the hill as well as a natural cooling mechanism for the entire space.
