Groen Hoek Boathouse

Competition 

Bushwick Creek once divided Greenpoint from the rest of Brooklyn.  Over the years, bridges were built, the creek and marshes were filled in to create McCarren Park and North Fourteenth Street and the Bushwick Creek Inlet evolved into a convergence of water, industry and New York’s expanding urban fabric. STITCH and GLUE - The project is conceived as a stitch, re-connecting the surrounding communities with the natural environment, evident in the recovering estuaries of the East River.  Located at the intersection of Franklin Street, Kent Avenue and North Fourteenth Street, the Boathouse extends out into the inlet to provide a direct public transition from park and street to water and to create a focus for the overall site.  The majority of the program is housed under a concrete monocoque roof, inspired by the chine and tumblehome of a kayak, with programmatic elements stepping down to water level through a central spine of ramps and stairs.  The boat launch, storage and construction areas float on the inlet, rising and falling with the tides, guided along a series of structural piers.  The Audubon Center and Boathouse create a courtyard adjacent to the boat gallery, overlooking a sliver of water.  The northern portion of the site is devoted to the study and presentation of indigenous flora and fauna, as well as land instruction.  The southern portion is reclaimed as public park, redeveloping the southern edge with mixed use buildings and a series of paths and open spaces connecting to a public pier and small pedestrian bridge, creating a continuous waterfront promenade, from Quay Street to North Twelfth Street.  Several oil tank footprints are preserved and converted into Greenthumb gardens, recording a segment of the inlet’s history as well as reinvesting in its future.