Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility / Selldorf Architects

Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility / Selldorf Architects - BeamSunset Park Material Recovery Facility / Selldorf Architects - Stairs, Beam, SteelSunset Park Material Recovery Facility / Selldorf Architects - Windows, FacadeSunset Park Material Recovery Facility / Selldorf Architects - WaterfrontSunset Park Material Recovery Facility / Selldorf Architects - More Images+ 14

Text description provided by the architects. The Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility is a processing center for New York City’s curbside metal, glass, and plastic recyclables which is being undertaken by Sims Municipal Recycling and the City of New York. Located on an 11 acre waterfront pier in Sunset Park, the design was influenced by its programmatic use as a recycling center which inspired reuse throughout.

Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility / Selldorf Architects - Image 14 of 19
Site Plan

The masterplan organizes buildings to support functionality, creates distinct circulation systems to safely separate visitors from operations, and adds two acres of native plantings. Buildings are also organized to create the site’s own urban context. The 140,000 sf facility includes a Tipping Building, where recyclables arrive by barge and truck; Processing Building that houses more than $25,000,000 in complex sorting equipment, as well as electrical compressor, fire pump, and supervisor rooms; Bale Storage Building served by eight loading docks; and a building for personnel (lunch room, locker rooms, offices) and an Education Center.

Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility / Selldorf Architects - Stairs, Beam, Steel
© Jonathan Chesley

The Education Center is one of the project’s most unique features. The structure contains programs for school children and the public including classrooms, exhibitions, and interactive demonstration displays. A key element of the design is a steel bridge which connects the Education Center to a viewing platform inside the Processing Facility. The viewing platform allows students and visitors to see the recycling process in action.

Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility / Selldorf Architects - Facade
©  Nikolas Koenig

Working within a pre-engineered building, one of the design challenges was to find ways to articulate the program and give an overall expression to the facility that would distinguish it from ordinary big box construction. In response, structural elements are inverted to appear on the exterior, giving steel girders and lateral bracing a greater visual impact.

Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility / Selldorf Architects - Beam
© Marc Lins

The facility makes a major environmental contribution by delivering recyclables by barge—a strategy which minimizes the distance collection trucks must travel and eliminates 240,000 miles of annual vehicle travel from roadways. Recycled materials are used throughout: site fill is made from a composite of recycled glass, asphalt, and rock reclaimed from the Second Avenue subway construction; buildings are made from recycled steel; and plazas are finished with recycled glass. Other sustainable measures include the largest application of photovoltaics in New York City, a wind turbine which generates 15% of the facility’s power, and bioswales for stormwater management.

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Project location

Address:Brooklyn, NY, USA

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility / Selldorf Architects" 27 May 2014. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/509387/sunset-park-material-recovery-facility-selldorf-architects> ISSN 0719-8884

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