- Adaptive reuse of existing structures
- Model of green design, energy efficient
- Home to REON and Beacon Institute educational initiatives.
- Visitor's Center for Denning's Point State Park
Building One
Visitors will head out to walk the adjacent trails along the waterfront and take in the surrounding scenic beauty.
View Building One Construction Photos
The Beacon Institute's first facility at the Denning's Point campus, unnamed as "Building One," is a model of green design that is reusing a mostly undeveloped and abandoned industrial site. This adaptive reuse of an existing late-nineteenth century 4,000-square-foot brick structure launches a new beginning for historic Denning's Point State Park. The vanguard for the Institute's larger campus at Denning's Point, which will include The Center for Advanced Environmental Research (CAER), Building One will be the first home to the REON project and the Institute’s educational programs, policy initiatives and technology workshops. It is also a welcoming Visitor's Center for Denning's Point State Park.
A Model of Green Architecture
The New York office of Arthur M. Gensler, Architecture, Design & Planning, Worldwide, is responsible for the architectural design of the building. Both the adaptive reuse of the handsome older brick portion, and the new attached annex were handled with great sensitivity. The annex is designed with a contemporary lightness, with large glass areas for viewing the surrounding river and forest vistas. The contrast between the two building elements emphasizes and illuminates the beauty of each. The design is respectful: it honors the building's industrial past, while emphasizing the Institute's contemporary mission.
This building manifests The Beacon Institute's commitment to energy-efficient systems, sustainability and green building technology. The design includes composting toilets, solar panels, a geothermal system that provides heating and cooling and wind towers on the roof to assist natural ventilation. A "green roof" of indigenous plants that will both reuse storm water and slow the buildings' heat gain and loss. The Institute anticipates a significant LEED certification (The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System(tm)) from the U.S. Green Building Council.
These very visible "green" technologies will be accompanied by descriptions, schematics and interpretation, to make them an educational opportunity of grand scale. Louis P. Ciminelli, Chair of the New York Power Authority, says, "Just as [The Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries] will showcase New York's natural resources, the buildings housing the Center will showcase the Empire State's leadership in energy efficiency and clean energy technologies."
