Suzanne LaBarre has the details on Michael Maltzan and Tom Leader Studio's competition winning entry to reinvent the Florida city's outdated waterfront.
Stunning renderings show the design ideas behind The Lens, a clean energy-powered concrete canopy with curving walkways and an underwater reef.
Of its clean energy bonifides, LaBarre reports that, "Wind turbines, PV panels, and rainwater collection systems count among the proposed methods for powering the new pier. As for that magnifying glass / wave / sail / crown / living room / lens: It's a canopy embedded with micro-turbines and shaped to maximize wind-energy production."
The design team was even able to utilize the existing aging peer to good effect. "Remains of the old pier form the basis of a new reef. Visible to the public, it's designed to help regenerate surrounding sea life with a 2.5-acre oyster habitat that's big enough to clean 20 million gallons of sea water a day."
Read the full story: A Massive Proposal To Turn A Florida Pier Into A Floating Urban Park
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City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello