TOWARDS THE WATERFRONT

CRITIC | MARCUS CARTER
FALL 2025

This project proposes a public natatorium in Greenpoint, Brooklyn along Newtown Creek.

The project site presents two contrasting realities: its present industrial fabric, and a future vision of a resilient public waterfront. Waterfront zoning dictates a public access greenway along the water, where currently the site would be the first among its neighbors with one. However, as buildings around the site are redeveloped, the single yard of the site will become part of a greater future thruway.

This proposal shapes the experience of the waterfront yard by creating a moment of reveal for visitors. The massing orients itself towards the waterfront, opening up into the public realm, while closing off to the industrial side. Its elevation above grade serves a dual purpose: shaping visitor approach and lifting the building out of the flood plain. From the street, the elevation hides the interior and the water beyond, while at the waterfront the landscape is allowed to cascade down as an occupiable reveal to the waterway. This allows the waterfront yard to be a current isolated destination, but also a future piece in the greenway, with its spaces for recreation and seating.