Gowanus

ABSTRACT: 
Separated only by the contaminated and odoriferous Gowanus Canal and a few city blocks, the neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens and Park Slope in Brooklyn, NY are two of the most desirable neighborhoods in NY. The catalyst for the desirability lies withing the industrial rich canal area and the proximity to the outlying communities. Taking advantage of the resources that are readily available in the canal area, our proposal incorporates both passive and active remediation to the once thriving canal. This link or social connection will bring the two separate thriving communities together by providing a “White Hot” nucleus area that radiates outward.                                                                                   

CONTEXT: 
The intent of our project is to provide this “Hot Spot” in the Gowanus Canal using the natural resources. The problem is; these resources contaminated, making our opportunity huge. The challenge is to utilize these contaminated resources in an “as is” ethical manner. By placing industrial processes in locations that can take advantage of these contaminated resources.

Final Presentation Boards:

Board One

Board Two

harvesting the contaminated sediment

Building Skin Idea: Extending Into the Site

Livng wall uses the heat from the power plant to grow exponentially into a neighborhood destination.

Integrated Water Cooling System for Fusion Reactor Vessel_Version One

Note: The plasma within the reactor will reach temperatures approximately 180 million degrees Fahrenheit. However, there are systems in place to concentrate and absorb these high levels of heat. The water cooling system shown above is designed only to cool the surfaces of reactor vessel. The heated water rises through a closed loop coil that enters a heat exchanger where excess heat is transferred to another closed loop coil. The heated water rises once again as the process is repeated. At the ground level the temperature of the water will be cool enough that any remaining heat can be transferred to an open loop coil that empties into the canal.   

Building Skin as Heat Exchanger

ITER Water Cooling System

Potential Site Locations Based on Overlay Diagram

PROCESS / STRATEGY: 
The sludge and sediment will be harvested for brick and cement manufacturing which will contribute to the infrastructure of a new city typology. The polluted canal water will serve multiple purposes; to harvest available isotopes for use in the fusion process and in the geothermal radiator as part of the cooling process of the power plant which will exit the plant back into the canal, providing heated water to produce an accelerated aerobic process to assist in the cleaning of the contaminated water.

Endpoint:
Using the available resources and the earths insulation properties makes it possible to position a self sustaining power source within the Gowanus area.

For process and comments please follow the link below:

http://msu-arch525f11.blogspot.com/2011/10/gowanus.html#comments