Update: Wet Weather Pump Station Design Revealed by Administration

Update 9/21/2010: Here are some photos of the pump station in progress. This project appears to be moving along much better than Pier C at this point. This pump when completed should help alleviate a good portion of the flooding in the 4th Ward.

Pump Station Exterior in Progress

A closeup of construction in progress. Note all the support beams temporarily put up.

Another closeup

Original Post 8/18/2010: Here is the latest press release from City Hall on the wet weather pump station down by NJ Transit station....

WET WEATHER PUMP STATION DESIGN REFLECTS COMMUNITY INPUT

The City of Hoboken is unveiling the facade designs for the wet weather pump station being constructed along Observer Highway.

Photo from City of Hoboken. Rendering by Nastasi Architects

In March, 2010, the Zimmer Administration began a public process to solicit community feedback on the proposed initial pump station design.

Mayor Dawn Zimmer, Community Development Director Brandy Forbes, and representatives from the North Hudson Sewerage Authority and CH2M Hill, the engineering firm responsible for the pump station design, attended the public session.

At the meeting, participants shared their concern that the initial design for this building had a residential appearance, but the building would not be serving that purpose. The building, not being regularly occupied, would provide a perception of being an abandoned residence. The recommendation from the public was to make the façade more industrial in nature. In response to the public feedback, the City reached out to John Nastasi, an experienced local architect based in the Neumann Leathers complex who is familiar with the area and its history, to assist in redesigning the façade.

Based on feedback from the community, public officials, the Local Historic Preservation Commission, and the Quality of Life Coalition, Nastasi Architects developed a new design that was sensitive to community concerns and appropriate for the area and use.

The design honors the post-industrial city by paying tribute to its most historic icon, the 1907 Erie Lackawanna Ferry Terminal Complex. Folded copper louvers are set over translucent glass panels citing the timeless aesthetic of aging copper while referencing classic industrial structures of the turn of the century rail yard.

The building is illuminated from within, providing insight and accessibility to the town’s essential aqueous program and pioneering engineering solution to the City’s historic flooding.

The structure's design is respectful of its' place in time. A set of varying patinized copper panels make up the contemporary facade, which overtime, will recede into a uniquely weathered pattern complimenting the City’s historic context on the Hudson River waterfront.

Two renderings are available on the City of Hoboken website at http://www.hobokennj.org/news/wet-weather-pump-station-design-reflects-community-input/

Link: http://www.hobokennj.org/news/wet-weather-pump-station-design-reflects-community-input/ ◦

Update: Wet Weather Pump Station Design Revealed by Administration