“SOM and Stony Brook University Design New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island”

SOM presented its design for the New York Climate Exchange (The Exchange), que will be built on Governors Island, New York, on land between Brooklyn and Manhattan. Their goal: to facilitate conversations and trainings around sustainability.

The design is the result of a collaboration between the architectural firm and the local Stony Brook University.

“The building sets the stage, not only for our post-carbon world, but also centers a compelling new public realm for all New Yorkers,” said Colin Koop, design partner at SOM. “It represents the stewardship needed to solve the climate crisis by weaving pavilions out of solid wood.”

New York Climate Exchange It will have eight floors at its highest level and four at the lowest. Its façade is composed of grids of wooden beams, with windows and gardens between floors. The roof is completely covered with solar panels.

Koop assured that the building will house spaces where advances in climate research will be cultivated and new technologies that can be implemented throughout the city and the world will be tested.

Local studio Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects will work on the area surrounding the building, including the exteriors of several renovated historic structures. UK design consultancy Buro Happold and local firm Langan Engineering have also been announced as partners on the project.

SOM designs offices for the United Nations in Geneva