![](https://urbandesignforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023_08_08_Google-SJT-6308Resized.jpg)
![](https://urbandesignforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023_08_08_Google-SJT-6308Resized.jpg)
September 10th, 2024
5:00pm - 7:00pm
St John’s Terminal
550 Washington Street, New York, NY, USA
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Rick Cook is a Founding Partner at COOKFOX Architects. Over the past 30 years in New York, he has built a reputation for sustainable, award-winning architectural design. Rick’s diverse portfolio ranges from 2-million-SF towers and large mixed-use projects to supportive housing and schools. Recent projects include the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University. He is also a founder of Terrapin Bright Green, an environmental consulting firm committed to improving the human environment. Rick received a Bachelor of Architecture, cum laude, from Syracuse University.
![](https://urbandesignforum.org/wp-content/uploads/Carlos-M-Martinez-Florez-600x600-1.jpg)
Carlos is Co-Managing Director of Gensler’s New York office and brings more than 30 years of experience providing thought leadership and innovative solutions in architecture, design, and business strategy. He focuses on piloting transformational thinking, as well as fostering the next generation of design talent and shaping the strategic role of design in the firm’s client enterprises. He has served on Gensler’s Management Committee and the Board of Directors, where he was instrumental in creating the Design Synergy community. Carlos was inducted into Interior Design’s 2023 Hall of Fame, honoring the design innovation that has defined his professional career.
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David Seiter is the founding principal of Future Green, an award-winning landscape architecture and fabrication studio. With over two decades of professional experience, David’s philosophy of urbanism is centered on the patchwork ecologies of our cities and how the priorities of people, plants and places overlap to create sustainable public assets. David enjoys investigating the complex ecology of our cities and revealing the nuances of the urban landscape in subtle, poetic ways. A frequent lecturer, David has taught at Pratt Institute and the University of Pennsylvania and is the author of Spontaneous Urban Plants: Weeds in NYC.
Join us for a tour of Google’s new campus at St. John’s Terminal with Rick Cook, Carlos M. Martinez Flórez, and David Seiter.
Located in Hudson Square, the former site of St. John’s Terminal serves as the new home for over 3,000 Google employees. Redeveloping the former defunct train shed involved purchasing air rights from a derelict Pier 40 in exchange for repairing the public pier. Incorporating native trees, shrubs and groundcover to support local biodiversity, the public entry plaza adjacent to the Hudson River Greenway weaves this campus into the fabric of the neighborhood.
Fellows will tour the 1.3 million square foot workplace with Rick Cook (COOKFOX), Carlos M. Martinez Flórez (Gensler) and David Seiter (Future Green Studio).
How can new urban campuses provide greater public good in New York City neighborhoods?
Guest & Accessibility Policies
Urban Design Forum promotes conversations between invited civic leaders, designers, developers, and advocates. This event is open to Forum Fellows only.
We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals to engage fully.
- The tour will include walking the site.
- If you’re not feeling well, please stay home. Face masks are encouraged, particularly if you have been recently exposed to colds, flus, or other illness. If you have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days, a high-quality, well-fitting face covering is required at all times.
- Please refrain from wearing strong fragrances to accommodate guests with allergies or environmental sensitivities.
If you have additional needs, we will do our best to accommodate. Please contact rsvp@urbandesignforum.org.
About Fellow Tours
As part of Public Works, we host tours of recent and ongoing built projects shaping the future of the public realm in New York City, with their designers, developers and builders.
Support Our Work
Public Works is made possible through the support of our Board of Directors, Director’s Circle, Company Members, Global Circle, and our Campaign for Courageous Leadership, as well as from individual members through membership dues. Urban Design Forum programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
To learn more about supporting Public Works, please contact Miranda Bellizia, miranda@urbandesignforum.org.