Manhattan Districts 1/2/5 Garage
Site Tour:
On a recent private tour led by the team at Dattner Architects, much progress was evident on the Manhattan Districts 1/2/5 Garage currently under construction. Along with WXY Architecture + Urban Design, Dattner Architects was tasked by the DSNY and the NYC Department of Design and Construction with housing over 150 collection vehicles, cleaning and repair stations, administrative offices for three Manhattan districts, as well as the UPS vehicles formerly parked on site.
On the fringe of Hudson Square, overlooking the West Side Highway and Hudson River Park, the Department of Sanitation's garage camouflages itself with the modern materials of recent buildings located in the trendy neighborhood. Perforated metal fins, located every 2'-6" on center and layered over an exterior envelope of curtain wall will track the sun's movement throughout the day, constantly changing the color tone of the building and helping to reduce its energy consumption. This is just one of the building's environmentally conscious features which should help it achieve LEED Gold certification.
The primary volume of metal and glass hovers above a dark maroon masonry base with a pattern of protruding bricks for added depth and visual interest.
Collection vehicles will enter and exit the garage from entrances off of Washington Street and West Street at building's northern end. Upon entering, vehicles will proceed up the ramp that runs along the Washington Street facade and the middle of the interior.
Vehicles will then make their way to wash bays to be located along the middle, or to maintenance and parking zones along the West Street periphery. While inside the garage, vehicle maintenance workers will have ample natural lighting that is appropriately filtered thanks to the curtain wall and its fins.
Located at the building's southern end along Spring Street, administrative offices and support spaces for all workers on site have spectacular views to Lower Manhattan and the iconic One World Trade Center.
In the southwestern corner, with equally stunning views of downtown and the Hudson River, the grand stair encourages use by the workers over energy consuming elevators and is part of the building's participation in the NYC Active Design program.
At the roof of the project is another main feature in the building's sustainability strategy, the green roof. When completed, the roof will provide storm water retention, an increase in thermal performance, and a visual improvement for the neighbors living in high floors in its line of sight.
The garage is forecasted to open later in 2014, while construction is set to start on the crystalline salt shed across Spring Street.
Previous Updates:
Architects: Dattner Architects with WXY Architecture + Urban Design; Program: Infrastructure; Location: Hudson Square, New York, NY; Completion: 2014.