The bedrock beneath Crotona Park, characterized by its crystalline and banded texture, is exceptionally hard—it prevents water from easily permeating to the ground, so much so that water ponds. Our primary concern for the Cary Leeds Center was to ensure that the sunken exhibition courts and the clubhouse wouldn’t flood during a rainy day.

A prudent, engineering-driven approach would have involved designing and installing mechanic pumps to extract the runoff. However, the client’s priorities as a non-profit demanded a creative, architecture-driven solution to reduce future operation and maintenance costs. As designers, we were determined not to saddle our non-profit client with ongoing operational burdens. As builders, we strove to devise a solution that prioritized the client’s long-term needs and financial considerations.

Instead of using expensive, energy-inefficient pumps—and since digging up the grounds of a public park was not allowed—we drilled horizontally to drain by gravity to the nearby Indian Pond. Doing so prevents the courts from flooding and also passively refreshes an existing body of water. We put on the hat of contractors who go beyond aesthetics, caring about the building’s maintenance throughout its lifespan, ensuring the well-being of those inhabiting the space now and in the future.