Floyd Bennet Field, a historically significant yet ecologically vulnerable site, has transformed significantly over time. Once an archipelago, it was infilled with 6 million cubic yards of soil in the early 20th century to become New York’s first commercial airport. Despite the airport’s lack of commercial success, it was the landing site for many of the pioneering aviators. During the Second World War, the airport was requisitioned by the US Navy and turned into a key strategic base for the United States coastal defense and aircraft production. Once the war ended, Floyd Bennet Field’s significance slowly dwindled. The bustling factories shuttered, and the runways saw a gradual decline in touchdowns.

Subsequently, the management of the land was transferred to the National Parks Service. Currently categorized as a National Recreation Area, the field serves as a park where both community-led and top-down programs thrive. A community garden grows healthily, an archery range sees archery competitions, an experimental charter school is under construction, and a temporarily permanent migrant shelter, amongst other programs, is scattered throughout the site.

Despite the site’s historical significance, no existing structures are listed under NYC’s historic building database. With significant land erosion in the infilled areas, several buildings have already been swallowed by the water.

Furthermore, the field is at significant risk of flooding in the coming years, threatening both the existing programs and the historic site.

In response, our reimagined vision seeks to restore Floyd Bennet Field to its original archipelago form. Using dredged soil from this transformation to create elevated berms around key ecological and historical points on the site, floodwater is directed away onto the walled-up runway for a gradual release, easing the floodwater’s effect on the site and surrounding neighborhoods. To ensure the existing community programs are not displaced by unforeseeable top-down forces, each program is then re-housed in its individual intervention. An elevated pedestrian path that also houses a light rail track connects the archipelago as well as to the greater Brooklyn and Manhattan area to ensure accessibility even when flooded.

Focusing on both ecological and programmatic preservation, we envision the total transformation of the site so that in 150 years, the field is still home to a bizarre mix of programs, created by the surrounding community.

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