This renovation and expansion of the Olmsted Center, located in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, provides an opportunity for the use of innovative, pioneering sustainability strategies. The existing facility is a pre-engineered structure specified as an administration building for the 1964/65 World's Fair. Afterwards it became the home of the Capital Projects Division of the City Dept. of Parks & Recreation. However its location four feet below the FEMA 100-year flood plain creative design strategies.
To achieve a sustainable site that both celebrates the beauty of water systems and works in tandem with extensive flood control strategies, a network of structured and natural features are being implemented. These include wetland detention areas showcased as rain gardens and a raised water channel system that will convey, treat and exhibit storm water runoff throughout the property.
The recently completed first phase of this revitalization project's 10,000 s.f. addition'addresses the center's need for more program space. Raised to a height above the FEMA flood plain, celebrates the engineering ingenuity of the 1964 structure with its exposed steel structure that is incorporated into the exterior architecture of the building. The new addition, characterized as having utilitarian elegance, houses offices, a public procurement/bidding room, and meeting rooms. Spaces are designed to maximize daylight and natural ventilation, reducing the energy load of the building while enhancing indoor comfort.
Project designed to achieve LEED Gold certification.
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