In partnership with Stony Brook University (SBU), Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) will create a new “Beyond Zero” Climate Solutions Center on Governors Island in New York Harbor to address the climate crisis.
The New York Climate Exchange (The Exchange) will be the first international center of its kind to develop and deploy dynamic solutions to the global climate crisis, while acting as a regional hub for the rapidly evolving green economy. It is described as “beyond zero” as it aims to achieve net positive sustainability.
It will be 37,161 m2 (400,000 square meters) of green design building space, including research laboratories, classroom space, exhibits, greenhouses, mitigation technologies and housing facilities.
As lead architect on the Stony Brook team, SOM has spent several months developing designs for a new kind of campus; one that not only sets the stage for a post-carbon world, but also creates an engaging new public realm for all New Yorkers.
The design and operations of The Exchange, conceived by SOM in collaboration with Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, Buro Happold and Langan Engineering, will serve as a model for sustainability by deploying energy-positive design strategies, including building solid wood, in situ. solar power generation and integration of existing buildings to achieve a net zero energy campus.
Complementing the natural landscape of Governors Island and the urban landscape of New York City, the design weaves new architecture into the beloved island park to create a living laboratory for research, education and public enjoyment . The Exchange will showcase sustainability as one of the first buildings in New York City to meet Living Building Challenge standards and as one of the first sites in the country to achieve True Zero Waste certification. It will also meet 100 percent of its non-potable water demand with rainwater and treated wastewater; while running entirely on on-site generated electricity, creating enough energy to service the city’s power grid. In addition, it will show resilience in its design by including new buildings elevated to the design flood elevation (DFE) of more than 5.5 m (18 ft), constructed without basements and living shorelines.
In addition to convening world leaders and climate experts, The Exchange will host green job training and skills development programs for local residents to help them launch successful careers and collaborate with local institutions such as Pratt Institute, Pace University and New York University. (NYU), the City University of New York, SUNY Maritime College, Brookhaven National Labs and IBM, to address the social and practical challenges created by climate change, including research that becomes commercially viable and ideas that lead to immediate action in the local context. and global levels.
SBU President Maurie McInnis commented that the creation of this global center, supported by Stony Brook University’s climate leadership, will bring together the isolated efforts of several world leaders, who often operate independently of experts and of the field labor of the green industry.
“Our design for this new campus embodies the stewardship needed to solve the climate crisis by weaving sinuous, massive timber pavilions through the park’s rolling landscape and reusing the historic fabric of the Governors Island building. Together, these spaces will cultivate advancements in climate research and will pilot new technologies that can be deployed across the city and eventually the world,” says Colin Koop, Design Partner at SOM.
