This project proposes the adaptive reuse of the Red Hook Grain Terminal into a combined program of organic waste management, water treatment, and a public bathhouse. It challenges the inherent capacity of architecture by creating a passive water-cleaning system through the strategic adjacency of these mixed programs. This system is made possible by the sheer scale of the existing structure—one of architecture’s defining qualities: the unparalleled intensity of material and spatial occupation. The passive system works to repair the contaminated waterfront, a legacy of Brooklyn’s industrial history, while providing Red Hook residents an opportunity to reestablish their relationship with the water.
