STATUS
IN DESIGN
NORWALK, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Manresa Island Corporation
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
23,226 / 250,000
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
Manresa Island is situated on the site of a decommissioned power plant in southeast Connecticut. The industrial peninsula, surrounded by water on three sides, will be transformed into a 125-acre publicly accessible park and a destination with diverse year-round public programs and research partnerships with local universities.
Manresa Island will reimagine the site into a new public amenity for the city of Norwalk, unlocking 1.75 miles of waterfront access for the first time in nearly 75 years. BIG was commissioned to preserve and adapt the plant’s main structures: the 22,000-sq-ft boiler building; the 22,000-sq-ft turbine hall; the 8,200-sq-ft office building; and the 350-ft-tall smokestack. Through adaptive reuse, these will be reimagined into a network of event spaces, educational and research facilities, and areas for play.
After Hurricane Sandy damaged the plant and it was decommissioned in 2013, the land has seen a resurgence in its natural environment, with a birch forest growing on the disposed coal ash and increased populations of ospreys nesting throughout the area. Immersing visitors in the site’s ecological richness, Manresa Island’s publicly accessible park, designed by SCAPE, will feature new waterfront walking paths, inviting exploration and connection with nature. The park will include living shorelines, wetland restoration, and tree canopies aimed at mitigating extreme heat and flooding, ensuring a resilient public space that celebrates and protects the island’s biodiversity.
Once home to the Manresa Institute, a retreat and recreation destination in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the site was converted into a coal-fired power plant in the 1950s. Now, Manresa Island will become a revitalized ecological habitat with educational and recreational opportunities centered around water.
The eight-story boiler building will focus on recreation, including multiple swimming areas and food and beverage options. The turbine hall will be converted into a multi-purpose space, while the adjacent office building – the smallest structure – will provide opportunities for marine and ecological learning as a laboratory with classrooms and research spaces. The design will preserve key aspects of the existing power plant, including the structural framework, smokestack, and administrative space.
"Manresa Island is set to become a much-needed foothold for the public along the otherwise rather privatized Connecticut coastline. With our vision for the powerplant, we seek to rediscover and reanimate the majestic spaces hidden within the bones of the decommissioned piece of infrastructure. Boilers, silos, and turbine halls are postindustrial cathedrals awaiting exploration and reinterpretation. As an extension of SCAPE’s resettlement of the island for the enjoyment of human life among many other forms of life, we seek to extend that resettlement into the cavernous spaces within. By editing rather than adding, we will open up and clear out the existing spaces so that the once coal-powered plant can become the framework for the social and cultural life of Manresa's future—from energy infrastructure to social infrastructure."
The park will not only protect, expand, and revive wetlands and salt marshes, but will also offer a diverse network of outdoor areas for engagement with local habitats. Key features include an expansive green lawn and meadow, a public beach with sweeping views of the Long Island Sound and New York City, and pedestrian bridges that provide opportunities to observe wildlife. Rooted in Manresa Island’s aquatic theme, visitors can also enjoy outdoor thermal pools, a rejuvenated pier, and a boat launch.
Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Rita Sio Thomas McMurtrie Danna Lei Jeremy Alain Siegel Douglass Alligood Tom Lasbrey Norain Chang Sungmin Kim Alejandro Guadarrama Daniela Morin Fani Christina Papadopoulou Victoire Talien Moya Annastacia Kernan Ethan Blatt Abdallah Kamel Nathaniel Buchanan Albers Yijun Yan Seung Hyo Chang
SCAPE
Atelier Ten
TYLin
Kohler Ronan
CCI
Tighe & Bond
E-Design Dynamics
AKRF
Directional Logic
HR&A Advisors