The NYC Department of Sanitation’s (DSNY) Manhattan 1/2/5 Garage, home to three Sanitation districts, and adjacent Salt Shed have set new standards for design excellence for the department’s facilities. These award-winning buildings have also raised the bar for the design of infrastructure across the city, illustrating the role that architecture can play in integrating the facilities that keep the city running into their surrounding neighborhoods.

The garage is DSNY’s first LEED Gold-certified building and features a double-skin façade, custom perforated metal fins that mitigate sun exposure, and a green roof that softens views from neighboring buildings, protects the roof membrane, and enhances storm water retention and thermal performance. The concrete Salt Shed, which houses 5,000 tons of salt, serves as a playful counterpart to the garage, drawing its shape from the structure of a salt crystal.

Join us for a tour with DSNY officials, as well as architects from Dattner Architects and WXY architecture + urban design. This is a working sanitation garage, and participants should dress accordingly. Hard-soled, closed-toe shoes are required. Visitors will also be required to sign a waiver upon entering the building.

This program is part of Getting to Zero: New York + Waste, a year-long series of tours and talks exploring New York City’s waste system.