The New York Climate Exchange | SOM - Skidmore Owings & Merrill

Stony Brook University will serve as the anchor institution for the development of the new climate solutions center designed by SOM on Governors Island in New York harbor. The New York Climate Exchange (“The Exchange”) will be a first-of-its kind international center for developing and deploying dynamic solutions to our global climate crisis, while also acting as a regional hub for the rapidly evolving green economy.

As the lead architect on Stony Brook’s team, SOM has spent several months developing designs for a new kind of campus: one that not only sets the stage for our post-carbon world, but also centers a compelling new public realm for all New Yorkers. The design and operations of The Exchange–conceived by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in collaboration with Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, Buro Happold, and Langan Engineering–will serve as a model for sustainability, deploying energy-positive design strategies including mass timber construction, on-site solar power generation, and integration of existing buildings to achieve a net zero energy campus.

Complementing the natural landscape of Governors Island and the urban landscape of New York City, the design weaves new architecture into the island’s beloved park to create a living laboratory for research, education, and public enjoyment. The Exchange will showcase resiliency and sustainability, as the first buildings in New York City to meet Living Building Challenge standards and be one of the first sites in the country to achieve True Zero Waste certification, meet 100% of its non-potable water demand with rainwater and treated wastewater, and run entirely on electricity generated on-site—even creating enough energy to serve the city’s power grid.

In addition to convening the world’s leaders and climate experts, The Exchange will host green job training and skills-building programs for local residents to help them launch successful careers, as well as partner with local institutions like the Pratt Institute, Pace University, New York University, the City University of New York, SUNY Maritime College, Brookhaven National Labs, and IBM on addressing the social and practical challenges created by climate change—including research that becomes commercially viable and ideas that lead to immediate action on the local and global levels.

Key elements of The New York Climate Exchange include:

- An engaging and interactive living laboratory with 400,000 square feet of green-designed building space, including research labs, classroom space, exhibits, greenhouses, mitigation technologies, and housing facilities, including:
- All-electric buildings for the entire campus with on-site solar electrical generation and battery storage meeting 100% of energy demand with net-positive capability to serve the local grid
- 100% of non-potable water demand met with rainwater or treated wastewater
- 95% of waste diverted from landfills, making this one of the first sites in the U.S. to achieve True Zero Waste certification
- Climate-resilient design including new buildings raised to the Design Flood Elevation (DFE) of +18 feet, no basements, living shorelines
- All new and renovated buildings will meet Living Building Challenge standards, and will be the first buildings in NYC to achieve this certification.

- A Research and Technology Accelerator that will source and nurture ideas, projects, and new ventures dedicated to solving the climate crisis.

- Workforce development opportunities for communities disproportionately affected by climate change—with over 6,000 green job trainees annually once fully operational—ensuring New Yorkers most affected by climate change are well-positioned for new green economy jobs.
- Partnerships and collaborative grant opportunities with community-based organizations already working to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
- A Citizens Advisory Council, composed of key local stakeholders to ensure that partners’ and neighbors’ voices are heard and amplified as we jointly develop and implement new climate solutions, including those that affect low-income communities of color.
- A self-sufficient development that goes “beyond zero” toward net positive sustainability.
- Academic and community programs that prepare students at every level for careers focused on climate change solutions and environmental justice with hands-on learning, including a semester “abroad” on Governors Island, fellowship and internship programs, and continuing education.

Stony Brook, a flagship of the SUNY System, has formed international partnerships with a wide range of academic partners outside of New York City, research foundations and social justice organizations to create The New York Climate Exchange.