The Generator is an urban waterfront tower development, rising out of the ground where a former power plant stood for three-quarters of a century. Nestled amongst a cluster of industrial buildings, the tower aims to create a unique office building that meets – and greatly exceeds – 21st-century energy goals.
EDG focused on careful analysis, location, and efficient design that leverages solar, wind, and hydrological energy sources. The elevated promontory the building sits on acts as an elevated parkland which anticipates water surges and mitigates wave action, allowing for hydrological filtration and phytoremediation. The team lifted the building body and office program 210 ft. above ground in anticipation for rising sea levels and to reveal the giant helical wind turbine. The sophisticated double skin is designed for modulated fresh air, with perimeter ERVs that manage intake and exhaust air much like gills. Interior spaces are heated and cooled via a radiant in-floor and ceiling hydronic system, using energy captured by the geothermal field in the park below. Further cooling is regulated by a deep-water cooling system drawn up into the tower’s heat exchangers.
The Generator, with its multitude of sustainable energy strategies, is beyond net zero. The dynamic tower capitalizes on natural, renewable elements of air, sun, and water from all around. It maximizes views of Manhattan and Brooklyn while referencing its surrounds in its own design. Intentionally playing upon the neighboring bridges, the Generator harks upon its past while looking optimistically towards the future.