Spring Street Salt Shed: Integrating Critical Services into the Neighborhood

Dattner Architects, Middle Density, Project, Territory and mobility, Urban Paradigms

Built environment, Civil infrastructure, Community, Concrete, Context, Ecology, Efficiency, Environment, Façade, Green roof, LEED, Neighborhood, New York, Project, Rain Water Harvesting, Renewable energy, Sanitation, Solar Energy, Solar radiation, Sustainability, Texture, Urban Paradigms, USA, Waterfront

Located at the terminus of Canal Street at the Hudson River, the Salt Shed’s crystalline, faceted planes enliven this highly visible structure, acting as a counterpoint to the diaphanous, scrim-like façade of the M125 Garage, directly across Spring Street to the north. Rising nearly 70 feet, the shed houses 5,000 tons of salt and marks the historic location where the former canal enclosing Lower Manhattan met the Hudson River. The cast-in-place concrete structure tapers toward the bottom—creating more pedestrian space beneath a dramatic overhang. The shed emerges from a moat of textured glass paving, further contributing to the enigmatic and iconic nature of this place in the city.