Solar One Environmental Education Center | BIG | Bjarke Ingels Group

Standing as the northern gateway to ESCR at East 23rd Street and Avenue C is the new Solar One Environmental Education Center - designed by BIG with the NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), Gilbane Building Company, TYLin (formerly Silman), Cosentini Associates, MNLA, and others. As the city’s first building to include ground-up solar photovoltaics and battery storage, the 6,409-sq-ft timber-clad facility replaces the former Solar One building, which became a vital refuge during Hurricane Sandy by providing solar charging power to local residents when the grid failed south of 34th Street. Today, the two-story center expands Solar One’s mission to deliver environmental education, training, and technical assistance across New York City, including flexible classrooms for K-12 STEM educational programming for NYC Public Schools and community events.

Defined by FSC-certified timber slats on the exterior, a roof fully clad in photovoltaic panels, and a battery storage system, the building minimizes the use of concrete - employing the material only at the flood level while incorporating lightweight, recyclable steel in the spaces above. The classrooms are elevated 19 ft above sea level, with ground-level storage areas enclosed by permeable metal grating, allowing water to flow freely during storm events. Inside, floor-to-ceiling windows frame sweeping views of the East River, Brooklyn, and Queens, while triple-glazed, bird-friendly glass mitigates sound from the adjacent FDR Drive. The classrooms seamlessly connect to a promenade of connected terraces and gardens within ESCR, creating a real-world learning experience right at the edge of the East River.

The center generates energy via a 21kW solar array with battery storage, allowing it to potentially stay open to support nearby New Yorkers in the event of power outages. As the exclamation point of ESCR, the building neighbors 1,340 ft of new flood barrier wall, sliding flood gates, and flood resilient embankments - resiliency measures implemented to protect neighboring areas from coastal flooding. On track for LEED Silver certification, the Solar One Environmental Education Center stands as both a model for modern flood protection and a learning tool for climate adaptation.

SOLAR ONE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER PROJECT FACTS 

Name: Solar One Environmental Education Center

Size: 6,409 sq ft

Location: New York, New York, United States

Client: Solar One, NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC), Gilbane Building Company

Collaborators: TYLin, AKRF, Cosentini Associates, MNLA, KM Associates, Cerami Associates, HLB, Lerch Bates, CCI, Construction Specification Inc., Socotec

SOLAR ONE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER BIG TEAM

Partner-in-Charge: Bjarke Ingels, Daniel Sundlin, Douglass Alligood

Project Manager: Ryan Harvey

Project Team: Adam Robert Poole, Ahmad Tabbakh, Ania Podlaszewska, Aran Coakley, Beat Schenk, Benjamin Caldwell, Catrina Nelson, Daniella Eskildsen, Deborah Campbell, Fiona Lu, Haochen Yu, Jakob Henke, Jan Leenknegt, Jennifer Dudgeon, Jeremy Alain Siegel, Ji-Young Yoon, Kayeon Lee, Margaret Tyrpa, Martynas Norvila, Maxwell Moriyama, Neha Sadruddin, Nicolas Lapierre, Rasmus Streboel, Sang Ha Jung, Seth Byrum, Tony-Saba Shiber, Veronica Lalli, Vi Madrazo, Yu Inamoto, Zach Walters