Noted architect Will Alsop has revealed much-anticipated renderings for the Glenwood, N.Y. waterfront regeneration project, which transforms an inactive power plant in Yonkers into a vibrant public space. The Glenwood power plant combines Alsop’s playful and innovative design with dynamic local community input. “I’m really excited,” says Alsop. “Not only is this my first building in the U.S., but I have the opportunity to build on a river, adjacent to a world-class city with a client that is enthusiastic about creating a carbon-free building.”
The project springs to life with Alsop’s signature injection of colour and gravity-defying design and proposed green space. The new multi-use complex appears to sprout from the original foundation in an animated display of ingenuity, with its striped stilts and bright geometric shapes. A new public promenade encircles the three structures, connecting the park areas in the rear to the waterfront. The Glenwood project transforms the power plant switch house into a new contemporary art museum with residential units above. Hovering over the original building, the largest of the towers will house residences, retail, waterfront restaurants and a rooftop green space with exercise facility, pool and plots for resident gardens. The elevated Magic Tower, to the south of the main power plant building, will be an additional residential building.
“Yonkers deserves world-class architecture and New York’s first carbon-free building,” says Erik Kaiser of REMI Companies, whose development concept combines high-quality architecture and sustainable design in order to raise the quality of life for inhabitants. “Glenwood will serve as a model that will change the character of the Hudson River and elevate the cachet of Yonkers.”