Red Hook Rising: Interim Strategies for Post-Storm Community Recovery

By Deborah Gans

Fall 2013

Arch 400, Elective Design Studio

Undergraduate Architecture

Interim Planning and Design Strategies for Post-Disaster Recovery at the Scale of Community

It is a challenge to shelter New Yorkers in place after a storm; but to displace a community during recovery is to weaken its social and economic fabric. The difficulty of housing a large population of renters as well as owners in proximity to their neighbors and corner stores led NYC Department of Emergency Management (DEM) to study the possibilities of pre-fabricated multi-family dwelling and to then commission, with FEMA, the construction of a proto-type designed by Garrison Architects. DEM then partnered with our RAMP studio to explore the potential of this prototype to temporarily house residents, to re-establish community economic and social networks, and to model a resilient future.

Our study neighborhood is Red Hook, where industrial/commercial, small scale residential, and New York City Housing Authority properties were equally affected. The historic separations among these properties and users were addressed through our rebuilding strategies that envisioned a more equitable as well as resilient future.

Our public design presentations were a vehicle for discussion among residents who had previously had not entered into dialogue. Additionally, the designs are (still) exhibited at Emergency Management Headquarters. We think the neighborhood and larger city discussions that have emerged from the work is the most valuable product.

Client Partner: Department of Emergency Management Red Hook Houses Resident Representatives

Professor: Professors Deborah Gans, Jeremy Carvahlo

Students: Valerie Bustos Ashley Connely Jillian DeLuca Abraham Dreazen Jasper Hayes Azhar Kootda Chin Lau Alex Lee Martha Madrid David Martinez Ana Monteverde Sung Jun Park Carla Perez Joop Pyo Alex Restivo Michelle Rojas Nilasha Sriniva Wilfred Yenko