Inhabiting the Brooklyn Bridge

A design for a (semi)autonomous, sustainable community, constructed on the piers of the old Brooklyn railway bridge.

The Proposition
The proposition is to construct an inhabited ‘megastructure’ on the six remaining stone piers and ramparts of the old railway bridge across the Hawksbury River (abandoned in 1946). The bridge is to accommodate as many residential units as possible while still maintaining quality of living, and providing associated commercial, retail, educational and community facilities. The bridge is to be connected to a future high speed train to Sydney and to the north, with a light rail or similar connection to Hawkesbury River Station. Cars will not be part of the equation.

A New Urban Paradigm
The purpose of taking on this ‘mad’ project is to investigate the potential of new urban development paradigms – densification - that could be applied to ‘air rights’ developments over urban highways or railways. Doing it across a river accentuates the concept of ‘island’ or autonomous development with minimised “ecological footprint”, something that should, in the future, be applied to all new building developments.

Performance Requirements for the Project
Each design should aim to meet key performance requirements:
1.Creating an ecologically and socially sustainable, vibrant, mixed-use, cosmopolitan, urban precinct.
2.Achieving the maximum population, consistent with maximising the quality of living (particular in terms of social capital).
3.Minimising resource consumption and waste generation, both in the construction of the project and over the life of the project.