Olmsted Center

The renovation and expansion of the Olmsted Center was an opportunity to use innovative, pioneering sustainability strategies. The existing facility was a pre-engineered structure specified for the 1964-65 World’s Fair as an administration center, which was later inherited by the Capital Projects Division of the City Department of Parks & Recreation. The agency’s desire to remain at this location, which sits four feet below the FEMA 100-year flood plain, coupled with its need for more program space and its target of LEED Gold certification (certified in 2023), gave rise to ambitious efforts in addressing the issue of rising currents. (The site was navigable by boat after Hurricane Sandy.)

To achieve a sustainable site that both celebrates the beauty of water systems and works in tandem with extensive flood control strategies, a network of structured and natural features were implemented. These include wetland retention areas showcased as rain gardens and a raised water channel system that convey, treat and exhibit storm water runoff throughout the property. Meanwhile, the new 10,000-square foot addition, raised to a height above the flood plain, celebrates the engineering ingenuity of the 1964 structure with its exposed steel structure that is incorporated into the exterior architecture of the building. The new administration center stands as a symbol of the agency’s civic role as the steward of New York City’s public parks and park structures.