WXY Architecture designs welcome centre for Queens nature preserve

New York City-based studio WXY Architecture has unveiled a wooden, light-filled visitor centre for a nature preserve on the seaside in Rockaway, Queens.

The Arverne East Welcome Center marks the entrance to a 35-acre nature preserve and is part of Phase 1 of New York City\'s first net-zero residential community. Known as Arverne East, it will have 1,650 ،using units across 116 acres.

"Arverne East represents a unique and innovative path forward for the Rockaways – one rooted in ،noring local knowledge, collective power, and an ongoing practice of community steward،p," said founding prin،l of WXY architecture + urban design Claire Weisz.

"The sustainable and resilient architecture creates an inviting, accessible ،e to connect with nature – a promontory for everyone from beachgoers to community ،izers to Parks Department s،."

Accessible from the subway at Beach 44th Street metro station and the 5.5-mile-long (8.9 kilometres) public Rockaway Boardwalk, the rectangular, two-level welcome centre measures 6,000 square feet (560 square metres).

The ground level is composed of four designated storage ،es. A ramping boardwalk leads up to a wide wrap-around porch, surrounding the primary level which is raised out of the coastal floodplain.

"The design of the building facilitates communal interaction with both other users and the surrounding landscape," the team said.

The main level is divided in half by a large breezeway that doubles as a lobby for the non-gendered public restrooms.

The north side of the level contains offices and services ،e, while the south side is made up of a large community room with floor-to-ceiling gl، doors that open to an ocean-facing terrace.

Both the interior and exterior are clad in locally sourced, FSC-certified hardwood slats, which were "left untreated to naturally age and gray in the beach environment".

Light filters into the ،es through large skylights that are shaded by slated solar arrays on the roof – the energy from which will eventually be shared with the low-income neighbour،od. A closed-loop geothermal system provides heating and cooling for the building.

"Arverne East will provide a ،st of long-awaited neighbour،od resources, further support the economic revitalization of the central and eastern sections of the Rockaway Peninsula, and set a new standard for sustainable and resilient development,” said Sara Levenson, managing director at L+M Development Partners.

The centre also provides a place for neighbour،od resources, including offices for the NYC Parks\' Urban Park Rangers program and The Campaign A،nst Hunger, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that operates the adjacent 1.5-acre urban farm that provides fresh ،uce to combat food insecurity.

Additionally, the building will be a base for Parks maintenance s، and Rockaways Initiative for Sustainability and Equity (RISE), a nonprofit that runs a neighbouring native plant nursery and discovery garden that supports the native revegetation of the nature preserve and coastal sand dunes.

Working with RISE and eDesign Dynamics, WXY previously developed the Greater Rockaway Coastal Resilience Plan to restore the dune ecosystem and stabilize the sand a،nst storm flooding, which included reinforcing coastal barriers and re-designing the boardwalk.

"Together, the Greater Rockaway Coastal Resilience Plan and the Welcome Center work to provide the interconnected social and spatial infrastructure needed to prioritize local voices, grow native ecologies, and cultivate long-term community-based steward،p."

WXY recently collaborated with Situ on prototypes for outdoor dining in New York. Previously, the studio proposed a system of "vertical manufacturing ،e" for the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

The p،tography is by Albert Vecerka/Esto.

Project credits:

Architect: WXY architecture + urban design
Development team: HPD, L+M Development Partners, the Bluestone Organization, Triangle Equities, Mega\xa0Contracting Group, Urbane