133rd Annual Meeting
Tours of Sims Municipal Recycling, Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility will take place following short remarks and the election of officers and directors.

6:30 p.m.
Reception 

7:00 p.m.
Welcome
Rosalie Genevro, Executive Director, The Architectural League of New York
Remarks
Annabelle Selldorf, President, The Architectural League of New York
Election of officers and directors
Remarks
Thomas Outerbridge, General Manager, Municipal Recycling, Sims Metal Management

7:30 p.m.
Tours
Selldorf Architects and Thomas Outerbridge

Sims Municipal Recycling, Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility
Designed by Selldorf Architects, the recently opened Sims Municipal Recycling, Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility is a processing center for New York’s curbside metal, glass, and plastic recyclables undertaken by Sims Municipal Recycling and the City of New York.  Located on an 11-acre waterfront pier, the structure is for and about recycling and reuse.

Designed to give character to what otherwise might be read as bland big box construction, the pre-engineered structure was articulated by inverting structural elements to appear on the exterior, emphasizing the visual impact of the steel girders and lateral bracing. The 140,000 sf facility includes discrete areas for receiving recyclables by truck and barge, sorting and processing, storage, and a public education center with display and learning spaces linked to the facility by a connecting bridge to a viewing platform. Recycled materials are incorporated throughout the complex, from structural steel to site fill made from a composite of glass, asphalt, and rock reclaimed from the Second Avenue subway excavation. Other sustainable measures include one of the largest applications of photovoltaics in New York City, bioswales for stormwater management, and a soon to be installed wind turbine, which is projected to generate 15% of the facility’s power.

Visit Urban Omnibus for an interview with Outerbridge at the new facility where he discusses Sims’ work to expand recycling in the city through new infrastructure and public education, the markets for post-processed recycled material, the potential of large-scale composting, and the challenges and future of reducing waste in New York City.