U.S. Department of HUD announces the Rebuild By Design winners

The winners of the Rebuild By Design competition were finally revealed! The global competition sought out the best local and resilient design solutions that would help rebuild the Eastern Seaboard cities affected by Hurricane Sandy.

From 148 applicants worldwide, 10 invited multidisciplinary teams led by some of the most recognized architecture firms and schools dug into nearly a year of research and engaged with their local communities.

In April, each team presented their final proposal to the public at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ followed by the jury.

Finally, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) selected the six winners, who were announced today by Secretary Shaun Donovan:

• BIG Team for New York, New York
• Interboro Team for Long Island, New York
• MIT CAU + ZUS + URBANISTEN for The Meadowlands, New Jersey
• OMA for Hoboken, New Jersey
• PennDesign/OLIN for Bronx, New York
• SCAPE / Landscape Architecture for Staten Island, New York

Winning design solutions will be implemented through CDBG-DR funding in addition to other public and private-sector funding sources.

Read more on the winning proposals below.

BIG U
by the BIG team
Location: New York, New York

BIG U: A Day in the Life from Rebuild by Design on Vimeo.

Project summary: "The Big U is a protective system around Manhattan, driven by the needs and concerns of its communities. Stretching from West 57th street south to The Battery and up to East 42th street, the Big U protects 10 continuous miles of low-lying geography that comprise an incredibly dense, vibrant, and vulnerable urban area. The proposed system not only shields the city against floods and stormwater; it provides social and environmental benefits to the community, and an improved public realm."

For full proposal details, click here.

Living with the Bay: A Comprehensive Regional Resiliency Plan for Nassau County’s South Shore
by the Interboro team
Location: Long Island, New York

Living with the Bay: A Comprehensive Regional Resiliency Plan for Nassau County’s South Shore from Rebuild by Design on Vimeo.

Project summary: "How do we keep Long Islanders safe in the face of future extreme weather events and sea-level rise? How do we ensure that the next big storm won’t be as devastating to the region as Sandy? And what can we do to improve the water quality and quality of life in the region? What can we do to make “bay life” safer, healthier, more fun, and more accessible?"

For full proposal details, click here.

New Meadowlands: Productive City + Regional Park
by MIT CAU + ZUS + URBANISTEN
Location: The Meadowlands, New Jersey

New Meadowlands from Rebuild by Design on Vimeo.

Project summary: "The New Meadowlands project articulates an integrated vision for protecting, connecting, and growing this critical asset to both New Jersey and the metro­politan area of New York. Integrating transportation, ecology, and development, the project transforms the Meadowlands basin to address a wide spectrum of risks, while providing civic amenities and creating opportunities for new redevelopment."

For full project details, click here.

Resist, Delay, Store, Discharge: A Comprehensive Strategy for Hoboken
by OMA
Location: Hoboken, New Jersey

Resist, Delay, Store, Discharge: A Comprehensive Strategy for Hoboken from Rebuild by Design on Vimeo.

Project summary: "Jersey City, Hoboken and Weehawken are susceptible to both flash flood and storm surge. As integrated urban environments, discreet one-house-at-a-time solutions do not make sense. What is required is a comprehensive approach that acknowledges the density and complexity of the context, galvanizes a diverse community of beneficiaries, and defends the entire city, its assets and citizens. Our comprehensive urban water strategy deploys programmed hard infrastructure and soft landscape for coastal defense (resist); policy recommendations, guidelines, and urban infrastructure to slow rainwater runoff (delay); a circuit of interconnected green infrastructure to store and direct excess rainwater (store); and water pumps and alternative routes to support drainage (discharge)."

For full project details, click here.

Hunts Point Lifelines
by PennDesign/OLIN
Location: Hunts Point, Bronx, NY

Hunts Point: Livelihoods from Rebuild by Design on Vimeo.

Project summary: "Hunts Point is the hub of the region’s food supply chain and a local living-wage employment center in the poorest Congressional district in the country. Despite severe environmental and economic hardship, Hunts Point also has significant capacity for demonstrating local, community-driven resilience building. An investment in resilience at Hunts Point will be felt throughout the region, providing food security during crisis and serving as a model for working waterfronts located in flood plains everywhere."

For full project details, click here.

LIVING BREAKWATERS
by SCAPE / Landscape Architecture
Location: Staten Island, New York

Living Breakwaters from Rebuild by Design on Vimeo.

Project summary: "The Living Breakwaters project reduces risk, revives ecologies, and connects educators to the shoreline, inspiring a new generation of harbor stewards and a more resilient region over time.  Staten Island sits at the mouth of the New York Bight, and is vulnerable to wave action and erosion. Rather than create a wall between people and water, our project embraces the water, increases awareness of risk, and steps down that risk with a necklace of breakwaters to buffer against wave damage, flooding and erosion. We have designed 'reef street' micro-pockets of habitat complexity to host finfish, shellfish, and lobsters, and also modeled the breakwater system at a macro scale to understand how and where they can most effectively protect communities. This living infrastructure will be paired with social resiliency frameworks in adjacent neighborhoods. Through the Billion Oyster Project and an associated network of programmed water hubs, local schools will be empowered with science, recreation, education, and access."

For full project details, click here.