At Jones Beach on Long Island, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation created a new energy and nature center to provide hands-on exhibits for the general public about energy and beach ecology. To accompany the new building by nARCHITECTS, Starr Whitehouse transformed an existing parking lot into a restored... Continue Reading
At Jones Beach on Long Island, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation created a new energy and nature center to provide hands-on exhibits for the general public about energy and beach ecology. To accompany the new building by nARCHITECTS, Starr Whitehouse transformed an existing parking lot into a restored beachscape with diverse plantings from local maritime plant communities. Site circulation takes visitors on a journey through the topographic and hydrographic zones associated with a beach to bay ecology in the Northeast, winding through sculpted dunes secured against the erosion and sediment transportation that impact this windy site. A pollinator garden and outdoor exhibits such as the giant blade of a wind turbine advance the institution’s educational mission. In all, the new landscape transformed almost 10 acres of concrete parking lot into native grasses and scrubland that will recreate lost habitat and provide ecological education opportunities for students and visitors.
