Battery Hatchery

headshot of a young woman with brown hair wearing a tan jacket with windows behind her
  • Amy Mei Wood, B.Arch. 2018
  • Hometown

    Fredericksburg, Virginia
  • Class

    ARCH 4101 Option Studio: Hybrid Infrastructures
  • Instructor

    Visiting Critic Rychiee Espinosa

Battery Park lies at the lowest point of Manhattan. It is, consequentially, the part of the borough most vulnerable to rising sea and storm tides. In an effort to counteract the major flooding that occurs when the water level rises even a mere three feet, the Battery Hatchery is a barrier and bridge that defends the park's coastline and extends ground plane access into the Hudson. Drawing upon the design of spillway construction for water passage control, the hatchery is composed of a series of frames simultaneously inhabitable to visitors and aquacultural life alike. These frames allow for the moderation of water flow to and from Battery Park, operable during sunny days to allow free passage and sealable during stormy days to form an essential coastal resilience barrier. The structure engages a community-supported aquacultural farm of fish and oysters, as well as algae for biofuel and hydroelectric turbines to power its water filtration.

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