Rebuild by Design - Big U
Client: US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Location: Lower Manhattan, New York City, US
Size: 8 mile perimeter around lower Manhattan
Collaborators: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), One Architecture, Starr Whitehouse, James Lima Planning, Arcadis, Buro Happold, MacLaren Engineering
Year: 2013 - 2014
Services: Resiliency Planning, Integrated Flood Protection
Awards: The BIG U has won numerous planning awards, most notably the APA National Planning Excellence Award for Urban Design, and the Holcim Global Design Excellence Award.
Context
After Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of the New York City region, the federal government allocated over $50B for promoting long-term resilience in Sandy-affected areas. As a result, the Rebuild by Design competition was launched, and Level Infrastructure joined a team named BIG U, led by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). The BIG U proposal ultimately secured a $335M federal award to fund construction of the first phase of an eight-mile protective perimeter around Lower Manhattan, designed to shield the area during future flooding.
Our Role
Level Infrastructure provided flood risk and mitigation technical support which included flood level projections, damage estimates, flood barrier options, and alternative mitigation options. Level Infrastructure was also responsible for leading the project’s cost benefit analysis, phasing plan, and implementation strategy. Level is proud to have conceptualized and developed a key aspect of the project’s physical design---the inclusion of breaks in the perimeter barrier in order to form discreet compartments for resilience and phasing.
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