A short film created by project architects Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) gives an overview of the vision they co-developed with the people of New York City for urban flood protection infrastructure. The 4-minute film “The Dryline” captures the personal impact of Hurricane Sandy in a series of vignettes featuring residents and visitors to New York City – and their desire for a creative response to the city’s flood vulnerability. 

To visualize the extensive team work between the authorities, the big number of involved specialists and the citizens of New York, Bjarke Ingles introduced the film at the Global Bronze Awards ceremony to the audience: "The production of this film was possible through the prize money from the regional Holcim Awards for North America 2014 at which the project received the Silver prize", he explained.

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How can a coastal city be protected against surging floodwater without simply surrounding it with a dyke? “The Dryline” is designed to provide flood prevention and enhance daily life on Lower Manhattan in New York City.

The design proposal for ten miles of waterfront was developed over a period of about three months. A number of interventions were planned in conjunction with the city and the community, always tailored to the local needs and physical circumstances. Several basic elements were employed. A system of variously shaped concrete elements is called “big bench.” These form water barriers while also, depending on the particular form, serving as benches, planters, playground seating, bike shelters, or skateboard ramps. The second major element is dykes, which can be built up where space allows. These also serve as green areas and attenuate traffic noise emitted from FDR Drive, the freeway along the East River. Bleak leftover spaces beneath elevated roadways could be transformed by adding public pavilions. Here, market stands, exhibitions, and event venues can be set up. In the event of an emergency, the storm shutters can be rolled down and locked, and the dual function of flood containment comes into play. Also, the entire twelve-kilometer stretch of waterfront could be enhanced with a continuous bicycle path.

Matthijs Bouw from One Architecture in Amsterdam is part of the project team: “We not only looked at the water situation, we also asked ourselves: What else do the people of Manhattan need? Can we combine our water management measures with solutions to other problems?”

Read feature interview in 4th Holcim Awards 2014/2015 (flip-book)

The winners of the 4th Global Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction have been decided – the trophies and USD 350,000 prize money go to projects in Colombia, Sri Lanka and the USA. All three prizes recognize architectural interventions that deliver tangible benefits to local communities: Turning a decommissioned water reservoir into a park in Medellín, rebuilding social fabric through a community library in Ambepussa following Sri Lanka’s civil war, and creating public zones and flood-protection for the island of Manhattan.

Notwithstanding the merit of the proposal’s vision and its commitment to translate an infrastructure into an urban space accessible to all, the project was nonetheless controversially discussed. On the one hand, the jury appreciated the scheme’s bold proposition to tackle the ramifications of climate change by means of a construction that offers a surplus value to society – turning a problem into an opportunity. On the other hand, the issue was raised as to whether the project was not more reactive rather than proactive, addressing the effects of climate change instead of its root causes.

Debate aside, the project makes a political statement by means of an architectural and urban proposition, arguing that climate change indeed can no longer be suppressed or discarded as a figment of environmentalist imagination and that tangible solutions truly exist. Moreover, the jury considered the project’s potential as model to be applied in other contexts, with the case of New York understood as a prototype from which to learn in order to pursue similar strategies in susceptible regions around the globe, including, most importantly, regions with limited economic resources.

As one of the three main Holcim Awards winners for North America in 2014, “The Dryline” automatically qualified as a finalist in the Global Holcim Awards 2015. All 15 finalist project teams were asked to submit an updated and more comprehensive entry that was evaluated by a global jury in March 2015.

View project entry posters - Global Holcim Awards

The results of the global phase of the 4th Holcim Awards competition were announced on April 20, 2015.

Read full media release - Sustainable design improving communities

The BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group exhibition “Hot to Cold: an odyssey of architectural adaptation” at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC will run until August 30, 2015. The exhibition includes the Holcim Awards winning “The Dryline” project, and provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the creative process used by the firm.

The winners of the global phase of the 4th International Holcim Awards competition will be revealed on April 20, 2015. The results will be announced via the Holcim Awards website.

The BIG U project to address New York City’s vulnerability to coastal flooding continues to gather support by constructing a protective ribbon in Southern Manhattan. The urban flood protection infrastructure project won the 2015 AIA Institute Honor Awards for Regional & Urban Design after receiving the Community Development Award in October 2014. The project also received USD 335 million in funding by the US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) in June 2014.

Matthijs Bouw from One Architecture sees the potential for social and economic benefits in the flood protection infrastructure. “Rebuild by Design: Urban flood protection infrastructure, New York, USA” won the Holcim Awards Silver for its innovative hard infrastructure with local community-driven sensitivity.

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Kai-Uwe Bergmann from Bjarke Ingels Group – BIG proposes a large-scale flood protection system by means of a set of small-scale interventions. “Rebuild by Design: Urban flood protection infrastructure, New York, USA” won the Holcim Awards Silver for civic infrastructure that responds to climate change and rising global sea levels.

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The BIG U project that addresses New York City’s vulnerability to coastal flooding by using a raised berm and sequence of public spaces along the water’s edge won the Holcim Awards Silver. The 13km (8 mi) long infrastructural barrier to mitigate the impact of future storms with the devastating force of Hurricane Sandy was designed by a consortium led by architects Bjarke Ingels and Kai-Uwe Bergmann of BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group (Denmark/USA). The jury acknowledged the project’s sensitive blend of hard infrastructure and local community needs.

The winning projects of the Holcim Awards 2014 for North America are at the cutting edge of efficiency and innovation in sustainable construction. The top prize went to a water supply and flood mitigation project in Las Vegas designed by Amy Mielke and Caitlin Taylor. BIG’s urban flood-protection concept for lower Manhattan was conferred the silver Award, and a zero-carbon compostable structure recently on display at MoMA New York designed by David Benjamin received bronze.

To propose a large-scale flood protection system by means of a set of small-scale interventions was viewed by the jury as an ingenious solution that could easily be transferred to other similar conditions – in an age marked by climate change and rising global sea levels. The panel appreciates the project’s conceptual framework proposing to merge the requirements of a “Robert Moses” type of hard infrastructure with the local community-driven sensitivity of “Jane Jacobs”. Here, local neighborhoods actively engage in defining specific programs, functions, and public amenities along a line that acts as a civic infrastructure belonging to the public at large.

The BIG U project addresses the vulnerability of the city of New York to coastal flooding, as experienced during the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and proposes a protective ribbon around lower Manhattan. The master plan, to be executed in several phases, uses a raised berm strategically to create a sequence of public spaces along the water’s edge along the raised bank. The infrastructural barrier incorporates a range of neighborhood functions and as a result offers multiple design opportunities, fostering local commercial, recreational, and cultural activities.