BIG FLOOD DEFENSE FOR MANHATTAN
26 Jul 2018
The first stage of the BIG-designed development to protect Manhattan from rising sea levels and tidal surges is now well underway. Check out the use of innovative technology utilised to construct its unique barrier system.
A request for proposal (RPF) has been issued to find a stewardship partner for the BIG U project, which was created by a team that includes the Danish architect's firm BIG and Dutch studio One Architecture & Urbanism.
The scheme was one of several winners in a competition initiated by Rebuild by Design in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, which damaged large swaths of the US eastern seaboard in 2012. 
The BIG U defences are designed to prevent the extensive flooding experienced by Lower Manhattan during the storm, and combat sea-level rise expected as a result of climate change. Plans involve creating a 10-mile barrier that would stretch from West 57th Street, wrap around the southern tip of Manhattan and run back up the other side to East 42nd Street.
Phase one, known as the East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project, will focus on a section of the East River Park along the Lower East Side – using $335 million (£256 million) in combined public and private funds. 
A "bridging berm" barrier – planted with a selection of salt-tolerant flora and including public spaces and viewpoints – is proposed to protect the low-lying ground.
The RPF issued by Rebuild by Design and Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES) calls for a partner, “To explore and ultimately recommend potential park stewardship models with funding mechanisms that could enhance the long-term operating budget while addressing issues of equity”. 
The submission deadline is 9 August 2018 and the chosen organisation will be informed by the end of the same month. The research project will then take place over the following eight weeks.
