scape / landscape architecture dpc

GOWANUS LOWLANDS A BLUEPRINT FOR NEW YORK CITY’S NEXT GREAT PARK

IMAGE: Salt Lot and 6th St. Turning Basin GOWANUS LOWLANDS RED HOOK

Gowanus Lowlands envisions a network of parks and public spaces centered on the Gowanus Canal and RED HOOK REC CENTER connecting it to the surrounding watershed. The future RED HOOK HOUSES of the Gowanus Canal is entering a critical phase, with the confluence of the Superfund cleanup, city land use studies and climate change likely to trigger significant shifts throughout the neighborhood. The Lowlands seeks to ensure the community has a key GOWANUS EXPRESSWAY role in shaping a watershed that is accessible, active, and clean for all who live, work and play in Gowanus. At the heart of the Gowanus Lowlands vision is a clean 3RD AVE G F and thriving waterway of aquatic habitat, community4TH AVE INDUSTRIAL BUSINESS ZONE activity, and bustling industry. 2ND AVE ELEVATED SUBWAY TRACK

G F

CARROLL PARK

G F R

The canal edge will rise and fall with sloping banks, raised lookout points, and forested seating areas. CARROLL Woven through this wild urban landscape will9TH be ST hives GARDENS of activity - performance spaces, cafes, picnic areas, boathouses, playgrounds. A system of streets, paths and bridges woven together by a coastal planting palette, site specific interpretation and industrial WASHINGTON PARK materials will invite people to engage with the unique history and character of the Gowanus.

3RD ST

3RD AVE GOWANUS HOUSES

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4TH AVE THOMAS GREEN PARK R CARROLL ST

An adaptive, resilient local ecosystem will take shape throughout the watershed’s network of parks and UNION ST forested corridors, leveraging the city’s investment in WYCKOFF HOUSES green and grey infrastructure - green roofs, detention 5TH AVE tanks, mitigation basins, bioswales and water WARREN HOUSES treatment parks. A working landscape emerges, one that enhances access to the canal while improving water quality, building habitat for avian and aquatic DOUGLASS ST BOERUM species, and creating landscapes that can adapt to HILL rising sea levels along the canal’s banks. PARK SLOPE A CLEANER URBAN SHORELINE RESTORATION ECOSYSTEM SEWER SHED BOUNDARY RED HOOK Gowanus was once a literal lowland – a productive tidal marshland with a deep floodplain, salt meadows and oysters the size of dinner plates. Leveraging the upcoming Superfund cleanup and DEP’s investment in green and grey infrastructure, the Lowlands includes watershed and site-scale strategies for a cleaner, more resilient urban ecosystem: 2ND AVE INDUSTRIAL GREEN ROOFS

3RD AVE

• Introducing stormwater management streets INDUSTRIAL STORMWATER STREET • Restoring salt marshes in turning basins • Building water storage and filtration gardens at MIXED USE STORMWATER STREET street ends DEP RETENTION TANK • Incentivizing green roofs and constructed bird SEWERSHED/WATERSHED BOUNDARY habitat • Designing for floating and in-water aquatic habitat CARROLL • Regenerating the urban forest GARDENS • Daylighting historic creeks BASIN WETLAND RESTORATION GREEN ROOFS

FLUSHING TUNNEL 3RD ST CREEK DAYLIGHTING RESIDENTIAL GREEN ROOFS FLOATING HABITAT

1ST ST DEP RETENTION TANK

CARROLL ST

3RD AVE

FLOODING UNION ST 4TH AVE 3RD AVE URBAN FOREST CORRIDOR

5TH AVE 4TH AVE URBAN FOREST CORRIDOR DOUGLASS ST

BOERUM HILL

PARK PROPOSED PROPOSED SEWERSHED/WATERSHED FLUSHING SLOPE STORM WATER STREET STREET TREES BOUNDARY TUNNEL

BASEMENT CREEK A COMMUNITY CONNECTOR BROOKLYN GREENWAY

The Lowlands connects people to the canal, and supports a historic, diverse and unique mixed-use RED HOOK neighborhood. Streets leading to the canal are INDUSTRIAL BUSINESS ZONE developed with a clear identity structured around the role they play in the urban network, be it a commercial corridor, a functional industrial route, or a residential street linking parks to the canal. The Lowlands improves mobility, access and wayfinding through:

2ND AVE • Expanding the existing bicycle network 3RD AVE 2ND AVE INDUSTRIAL CORRIDOR • Connecting Brooklyn Greenway to the canal • Enhancing emerging commercial, mixed-use and 4TH AVE industrial corridors GREENWAY SPUR • Extending east-west streets to the canal edge

• Introducing new bridges for pedestrians and NEW BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES COURT ST CORRIDOR cyclists CARROLL • Developing a signage and wayfinding strategy 9TH ST RECYCLING CORRIDOR GARDENS • Developing a network of site-specific art to 9TH ST interpret the unique history and issues

3RD STREET GOWANUS MIX PLACES STUDY

3RD ST 1ST ST UNION STREET CORRIDOR

LOWLANDS WAYFINDING CARROLL ST 4TH AVE COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR

3RD AVE

ACTIVE INDUSTRY UNION ST 4TH AVE

PROPOSED BIKE LANES DOUGLASS ST 5TH AVE COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR 5TH AVE

BOERUM HILL

PARK BIKE LANES PROPOSED BROOKLYN MIXED COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL INDUSTRIAL PLACES SLOPE WAYFINDING STATION GREENWAY RESIDENTIAL LAND USE LAND USE BUSINESS ZONE STUDY PROPOSED EXISTING VIBRANT COMMUNITIES A NETWORK OF PARKS

Gowanus has a strong network of parks, but many are disconnected from the canal and require improvement and renovation. The Gowanus Lowlands stitches 2ND AVE together parks and new open space improvements, creating a network of public spaces that center on 3RD AVE the canal. This network hosts activities and programs to invite and engage the neighborhood. The park network is composed of: 4TH AVE

• Existing parks UNDER THE TRACKS/FRAN BRADY PARK • Greened corridors CARROLL PARK • Esplanades and supplemental public access areas created through waterfront zoning CARROLL • Streets ending at the canal GARDENS • Sites over DEP stormwater detention tanks PROPOSED ESPLANADE • Creek daylighting 9TH ST EXISTING ESPLANADE • Salt marsh restoration in turning basins and along edges RESTORED TURNING BASIN

3RD ST WASHINGTON PARK

STREET END SUPPLEMENTAL PUBLIC ACCESS GOWANUS HOUSES

EXTENDED STREET END

CARROLL ST

THOMAS GREENE PARK DEP RETENTION PARK

NEVINS ST VOLUNTEER PLANTINGS UNION ST

3RD AVE DOUGLASS ST WYCKOFF HOUSES

4TH AVE

PARK PROPOSED PARK PROPOSED PROPOSED EXISTING NYCHA SLOPE CONNECTOR STREETS ESPLANADE PARK SPACE PARK SPACE OPEN SPACE

INNOVATIVE PARKS ALONG THE CANAL ACTIVE MARITIME USE RED HOOK A WILD URBAN WATERWAY

A walk within the Lowlands immerses one in the powerful ecology of this tidal estuary. Streets dead- end at the canal, creating space for filtration gardens, 2ND AVE get-downs, and boat launches. Street ends connect 3RD AVE WATER STEPS STREET END to a coordinated network of walking paths that slope up and down along the water’s edge. As the canal FLOATING WALKWAY is remediated, edge designs adapt to address site- specific conditions and uses, including water access 4TH AVE and floodability. Wild urban waterway experiences include:

• Stepped get-downs ECO-EDUCATION STREET END • Kayak and small boat access CARROLL • Raised overlook platforms GARDENS • Vegetated Banks GCC MAINTENANCE HUB • Stormwater management sites 9TH ST • Eco-education hubs • Aquatic restoration sites • In-water floating walkways

OVERLOOK DREDGERS KAYAK ACCESS

3RD ST OVERLOOK STREET END

STORMWATER STREET END

WATER ACCESS STREET END

CARROLL ST PLATFORM STREET END

EDUCATION CENTER

BOATHOUSE UNION ST GOWANUS-ADAPTED VEGETATION NEVINS ST

DOUGLASS ST

PARK 4TH AVE SLOPE

PROPOSED STREET END TYPES: OVERLOOK WATER STEPS ECO. EDUCATION LOW PLATFORM WATER ACCESS STORM WATER

RECREATIONAL CANAL USE STREET ENDS

CROSS-CANAL VIEWS SEATING TERRACES SUPPLEMENTAL PUBLIC ACCESS FORESTED EDGE

RECREATIONAL CANAL USE CONTINUOUS PROMENADE

WETLAND TERRACES

FLOATING WETLANDS

ENLARGED PARK STREET END STORMWATER MANAGEMENT AND OVERLOOK PLATFORM STREET END KAYAK LAUNCH STREET END FILTRATION STREET END

A DYNAMIC CANAL EXPERIENCE COMMUNITY FACILITIES

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP CANAL OVERLOOK PUBLIC ESPLANADE

EXTENDED STREET END

FLOATING WETLAND

STEPPED WATER ACCESS

BULKHEAD GARDENING

SCIENCE EDUCATION

GOWANUS ADAPTED PLANT PALETTE

WATER STEPS STREET END For more information please visit: www.scapestudio.com and www.gowanuscanalconservancy.org