The NYC Department of Design and Construction (NYC DDC) started 2020 with an exhibit at the Center for Architecture – Public Works: Reflecting on 15 Years of Project Excellence for New York City. Dattner Architects is honored to have the 116th Precinct, Manhattan Districts 1/2/5 Garage, and Spring Street Salt Shed featured in the Public Works exhibit, which is on display till April 4, 2020.
Situated between an active Long Island Railroad (LIRR) raised railway and a residential neighborhood, the new 116th Precinct Station will serve as a mediator between these contrasting urban scales. A key site strategy was to locate the building along the street and place parking behind, shielding it from public view. This gives the police station a presence along the street and protects the character of the residential streetscape and sidewalk from vehicular activity. Designed to encourage community awareness, interaction, and engagement with the NYPD 116th Precinct team, a new public plaza will include public seating and bike racks, and connects the neighborhood to the LIRR Rosedale station entrance. A new community room anchors the corner of the station and serves as a prime programmatic element of the plaza.
Overlooking the Hudson River at the corner of Spring Street and West Street, the Manhattan Districts 1/2/5 Garage houses three district garages for the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY). The garage accommodates over 150 sanitation vehicles including trucks, frontend loaders, salt spreaders, heavy-equipment wreckers, and personnel vehicles; separate vehicle wash and personnel facilities for each district; and centralized fueling and repair facilities. The double-skin façade wraps the curtain wall with 2,600 custom, perforated, metal fins, vertically articulating and lighting the building’s massing. An extensive 1.5 acre green roof softens views from neighboring buildings, protects the roof membrane, and enhances storm water retention and thermal performance. A benchmark project for NYC’s Active Design program, the garage has achieved LEED Gold certification.
Directly across Spring Street to the north, the Salt Shed’s crystalline, faceted planes enliven this highly visible structure, acting as a counterpoint to the diaphanous, scrim-like façade of the Garage. The cast-in-place concrete structure tapers toward the bottom—creating more pedestrian space—and rises from a glazed moat that is illuminated at night. Rising nearly 70 feet, the shed houses 5,000 tons of salt and creates an iconic landmark at this important intersection. Within the year of opening, the Manhattan Districts 1/2/5 Garage & Salt Shed have become a source of neighborhood pride. The garage and salt shed were designed in association with WXY Architecture + Urban Design.
Dattner Architects is a proud partner and supporter of NYC DDC, an agency delivering high-quality public projects that contribute to a thriving and resilient city for all New Yorkers.
