RETI Blue City Lab Environmental Study

Description

The Blue City Lab will be the first off-grid, community-based, floating climate lab in the US. The project is planned to be built in the Upper Bay of New York City in the Red Hook neighborhood. BlueCity will combine a climate laboratory, classroom and training facilities, a public gathering space and floating gardens. It is a model for climate-responsive architectural innovation combined with low-energy building systems and renewable energy harvesting. This project will tackle the threat of rising sea-levels by creating a resilient floating community.

Specific research tasks include:

 • Climate analysis of the site and energy modeling of the proposed design including thermal performance and energy harvesting

 • Research on Thermally Active Building Systems (TABS) to be embedded in the floating slab and any other building systems that are used for heating/cooling.

 • Research on low-embodied carbon materials for construction of the lab

Go to Blue City Lab’s website to learn more.

Team: Dorit Aviv and Mrinalini Verma

Collaborators: Tim Gilman (RETI Center), Gita Nandan (RETI Center), Zehra Kuz (RETI Center), Forrest Meggers (Princeton University).