STATUS
COMPLETED
CLIENT
Gilbane Building Company
TYPOLOGY
Education
SIZE M2/FT2
595 / 6,409
SHARE
Located in Manhattan’s Stuyvesant Cove Park at East 23rd Street and Avenue C, the new Solar One Environmental Education Center is home to the non-profit group Solar One, whose mission is to design and deliver innovative education, training, and technical assistance across New York City. As the first ground-up solar- and battery-powered new build in New York City, the waterfront center functions as both a model for coastal resiliency and a hub for immersive learning.
The 6,409-sq-ft, timber-clad facility replaces the former Solar One building on the same site, which became a vital refuge during Hurricane Sandy by providing recharging capabilities to nearby hospitals when the energy grid failed south of 34th Street. The new two-story center expands Solar One’s mission of environmental education and stewardship, including flexible classrooms for educational programming, community functions, office use, and other community opportunities.
WATERFRONT EDUCATION CENTER
— The Solar One Environmental Education Center is a two-story, timber-clad building in Stuyvesant Cove Park along the East River.
BUILDING SIZE
— The building footprint was adjusted to meet program requirements.
ROOF
— The roof was partially sloped to provide visibility of the solar panels from Stuyvesant Cove Park.
SPACE + VIEWS
— The building volume was modified to create informal gathering areas and optimize views.
SPACE + VIEWS
— The building volume was modified to create informal gathering areas and optimize views.
GLAZING
— Glazing was recessed to provide a covered terrace.
CORNERS
— The southwest corner was adjusted to accommodate the berm.
CORNERS
— The northeast corner was adjusted to accommodate the main entrance.
“The opening of the Solar One Environmental Education Center is the culmination of 20 years of planning, learning, and building with one overriding goal in mind: to teach NYC’s youth the power of renewable energy, sustainability, and resiliency. Now more than ever, it is our mission to ensure that future generations have the resources and knowledge to combat climate change and preserve our precious Earth.”
Defined by FSC-certified timber slats on the exterior and a roof fully clad in photovoltaic panels, the environmental center minimizes the use of concrete – employing the material only at the flood level while incorporating lightweight, recyclable steel in the spaces above. The classrooms are elevated 19 ft above sea level, with ground-level storage areas enclosed by permeable metal grating, allowing water to flow freely during storm events.
Inside, floor-to-ceiling windows frame sweeping views of the East River, Brooklyn, and Queens, while triple-glazed, bird-friendly glass mitigates sound from the adjacent FDR Drive. The classrooms seamlessly connect to Stuyvesant Cove Park’s promenade of connected terraces and gardens, creating an engaging real-world learning experience right at the edge of the East River.
“The Solar One Environmental Education Center may not be our largest project, but it is certainly one of our longest running. When we sat down for the very first brainstorming session - on what was then simply referred to as ‘Solar One’ in our office - I was recovering from my 40th birthday celebration. Now, I am comfortably in my 50s, and what started as ‘Solar One’ has - after a decade of work - become better known as ‘Solar Ten’ around the firm. For me, it’s been a companion for the past 10 years - a decade-long dialogue with the city, with my colleagues, and with the future. The center itself is a compact pavilion, but it stands as the exclamation point at the north end of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project - what we’ve nicknamed the ‘Dryline’ - that will help keep New York safe when the next Hurricane Sandy comes. Nested on the berm designed to protect Manhattan, the center is both symbolic and practical: it is built to withstand flooding and integrates solar energy and battery storage, ensuring it can operate even in an emergency. I can’t imagine a more meaningful place to inspire future generations to learn about renewable energy and climate action: where the old New York, a gas station on the highway, meets the new New York, a manmade coastal landscape the makes the waterfront more resilient, more sustainable, and more enjoyable for the people that live by it.”
The new center generates energy via a 21kW solar array with battery storage alongside FDR Drive, allowing the building to potentially stay open to support nearby New Yorkers in the event of power outages. Standing as the northernmost point of the BIG-led East Side Coastal Resiliency project – a 2.5-mile climate protection system designed to safeguard more than 110,000 New Yorkers from future storms and tidal flooding – the building is situated next 1,340 ft of flood barrier wall, sliding flood gates, and flood resilient embankments. The pavilion is on track for LEED Silver certification.
"The Solar One Environmental Education Center stands as more than a building, it’s a classroom for the city - a meeting point where architecture, nature, and community converge. Clad in timber and photovoltaic panels, the center's angled roof acts as both a renewable energy source and a teaching tool. Inside, flexible classrooms support an immersive, hands-on learning experience for New Yorkers from an elevated position overlooking the East River and Stuyvesant Cove Park. Made possible by the vision and dedication of many, our hope is that this center inspires curiosity, responsibility, and imagination - empowering generations to shape a more sustainable and resilient future together. BIG is honored to bring the project to life as both a model for future urban resilience and a home for curiosity, community, and responsibility."
Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Beat Schenk Adam Poole Aran Coakley Haochen Yu Jakob Henke Jan Leenknegt Kayeon Lee Margaret Tyrpa Max Moriyama Neha Sadruddin Ryan Harvey Sang Ha Jung Yu Inamoto Tony-Saba Shiber Deb Campbell Ji-Young Yoon Jeremy Alain Siegel Daniella Eskildsen Douglass Alligood Fiona Lu Jennifer Dudgeon Martynas Norvila Nicolas Lapierre Rasmus Streboel Seth Byrum Veronica Lalli Zachary Walters Ania Agnieszka Podlaszewska Benjamin Caldwell Catrina Nelson Ahmad Tabbakh Vi Madrazo
COLLABORATORS
Silman Structural Engineers
AKRF
Cosentini Associates
MNLA
KM Associates
Cerami Associates
HLB
Lerch Bates
CCI
Construction Specification Inc.
Socotec
