Ecological toe protection for a residential waterfront
Huron Street, Brooklyn, New York City
September, 2019
Shoreline protection: concrete armor
Partners: SCAPE Studio, Quadrum Global
The Goal
Client Quadrum Global was developing a large property along the Brooklyn waterfront in collaboration with SCAPE Studio landscape architects. The development’s hardened seawall and riprap infrastructure required structural support and environmental improvements.
The Challenge
The local Greenpoint community asked developers to use an environmentally-sensitive approach to the project’s shoreline. Huron Street’s waterfront is highly urbanised, with little space for natural elements. The development team sought out a solution that could provide ecosystem benefits in a space-limited, intensely developed waterfront.
How we built it
ECOncrete’s technologies were offered to the community by Quadrum Global and SCAPE Studio as an ecological alternative to traditional shoreline protection infrastructures. Armor blocks were deployed at the base of revetment rock to provide toe protection and shoreline stabilization, while built-in water retaining pools serve as habitat for subtidal and intertidal species. ECOncrete’s patented technology encourages the growth of marine organisms, filtering water, storing carbon, and increasing biodiversity along the Huron St. waterfront.
