nathan john 

The Hunters Point Shoreline is a new public open space born out of a far-reaching public access, interim use, and community engagement strategy for the former Hunters Point Power Plant site. For this historically disenfranchised community, improving the shoreline edge of this site represents an important step forward in a decades-long struggle for environmental justice.

Physically and programmatically, the half-mile-long park directly reflects priorities articulated by the community through the activities, events and workshops presented at NOW Hunters Point. With the involvement of over 15,000 community members spanning generations and interests, the process was particularly poignant in Hunters Point, an African-American neighborhood defined by not only the Great Migration, but the legacy of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and its closure.

By understanding design as an act of empathy and translation, broad community priorities like “safety” and “tell our story” became specific programs: an outdoor stage for impromptu performances, a bayside classroom, and varied gathering places, all emerged from ongoing conversations with the community. The design process married groundbreaking community listening with an equally rigorous sustainability and environmental agenda. Ambitious goals for native plantings, bioremediation, sea level rise accommodation, habitat creation, and stormwater treatment underpinned our solution.

In honoring the community’s desires and exceeding the client’s goals, Hunters Point Shoreline employs a material palette that speaks to the durability and massiveness of the site’s former use along with forms, colors, and technologies that herald an aspirational future.