Landscape architecture firm SCAPE together with Bjarke Ingels Group have announced plans to transform Connecticut's Manresa Island into a public-oriented development as a hub for learning, exploration, and community engagement. Originally slanted for private waterfront housing, the new scheme aims to open up the area as a public park with ample waterfront access, a project led by SCAPE. Additionally, the decommissioned coal-fired power plant is set to be converted by BIG into a community hub for multiple activities including swimming, small and large-scale events, research, and educational rooms. Supported by a private philanthropic investment from Austin McChord, the project is set to open in 2030 through a phased development.
led by landscape architecture firm SCAPE, the park transformation aims to activate the abandoned power plant site by integrating healthy public spaces, ecological restoration, and a wide range of activities. It includes a network of walking paths allowing visitors to explore natural habitats along the water's edge. The plan also integrates remediation strategies to revive the island's coastal ecosystems and preserve its post-industrial landscapes, incorporating living shorelines, added tree canopies to combat heat, and elevated areas to mitigate flooding. Through these interventions, the project aims to transform the space into an attractive destination for recreational and educational activities, while also restoring the local ecosystems.
The reimagining of the former power plant on Manresa Island is led by the Bjarke Ingels Group, with the purpose of converting the coal-fired and oil-powered facility into a dynamic community hub. This adaptive reuse project seeks to turn the dated fossil fuel infrastructure into modern social infrastructure. The repurposed plant, located at the heart of the 125-acre island, will host varied activities such as swimming, events, dining, and educational pursuits focusing on aquatic themes. Key historical elements such as the chimney and turbine halls will be preserved to maintain the history of the location.
Manresa Island, located on Long Island Sound in Southeast Connecticut, boasts a rich history dating back to the 1700s when it was known as Boutons. It later hosted the Jesuit-run Manresa Institute until 1911. Its identity shifted in 1953 when a coal-fired power plant was established. Despite past environmental concerns, the island is experiencing an ecological resurgence with increased biodiversity. The regeneration project involved local communities, collaborating with organizations such as The Maritime Aquarium to adapt the programming to the needs of the residents.
Manresa Island is set to become a much-needed foothold for the public along the otherwise rather privatized Connecticut coastline. With our vision for the powerplant, we seek to rediscover and reanimate the majestic spaces hidden within the bones of the decommissioned piece of infrastructure. Boilers, silos, and turbine halls are postindustrial cathedrals awaiting exploration and reinterpretation. "As an extension of SCAPE's resettlement of the island for the enjoyment of human life among many other forms of life, we seek to extend that resettlement into the cavernous spaces within. – Bjarke Ingels, Founder & Creative Director of BIG.
The industrial heritage of a city represents a valuable resource for urban redevelopment, offering not only additional spaces within the economy of the city, but also contributing with unique architectural features ready to be rediscovered. In similar news, RSHP has proposed the redevelopment of a 150-year-old industrial Victorian gasholders site into a mixed-use residential center in the London Borough of Newham.
