"Rockaway's Ark" Emergency Shelter

ROCKAWAY’S ARK is a community center that aims to address the issue of 50 year and 100 year floods that could affect the neighbourhoods of the Rockaway, Queens in response to thetraumatic aftermath of Hurricane Sandy that hitthe peninsula in 2012. This community center is a metaphor for abandoned ships off the shore as though the building has docked itself into the landscape. The dynamic design of the landscape proposes a solution that functions as both park for public activities and retaining pods for water treatment during times of flood. Water treatment strategies are derived from a series of water flow studies to ensure the least flood damage to the building and landscape while also achieving sustainability through the choice of building materials and the forms of the landscape, allowing water to be retained, recycled, and released. The community center will serve as a point of gathering to connect the society during regular days, a building which encourages both youth and adults to pursue skill based interests to build a stronger community advocating for environmental and industrial development for the Rockaway. When encountering a climate crisis, the building will transform and serve as an emergency shelter to provide safety for the people. Form and function are both achieved in this project as different design strategies to approach different programmatic problems.