Living Breakwaters Design and Implementation

The SCAPE team was selected as one of the winning teams in the Rebuild by Design competition. The project is currently being implemented by the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR) with $60 million of CDBG-DR funding. Planned for the neighborhood of Tottenville, Staten Island, the project links in-water infrastructure with on-shore education and outreach, to help increase awareness of risk, enhance ecologies, and bring local school curriculum to the waterfront. SCAPE was commissioned by the GOSR to lead the schematic design process with a strong coalition of ecological and engineering partners, iteratively testing and designing scenarios for breakwater height, width, and location along the Tottenville shoreline. The team has worked closely with members of the community to create a design that benefits the community while positively affecting regional ecosystems and resiliency efforts. The schematic design process incorporates hydrodynamic and wave modeling, ecological data collection, active community feedback, agency coordination, and constructability assessment. Living Breakwaters is anticipated to move into construction in 2019. Read more about the implementation process at the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery project site.