Sunset Park Botanical Garden

Columbia GSAPP - Architectural System

Spring 2020

In collaboration with Angela Sun, Yaxin Zhang, Alice Fang

This study of Sunset Park developed through the understanding that the current neighborhood houses unideal living conditions; a landscape presently dominated by industry, truck traffic, air pollution, and lack of pedestrian access to the waterfront. Through developing community and educational spaces, the Sunset Park Botanical Garden aims to improve the livelihood of the neighborhood.

This garden-research center we are developing is a new typology for botanical garden that tests resilience to flooding and climate change, so we can study how our natural and urban systems respond. The garden will mitigate stormwater, enhance air quality, and add tremendous value to real estate to Sunset Park by displacing and redistributing current underused buildings