IYRS School of Technology & Trade / IYRS Brooks

The International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) campus is uniquely situated on the historic, working waterfront of downtown Newport, RI, along Thames Street. While this setting is commercially vibrant, it is also a fragile coastal area that repeatedly faces severe flooding, most recently during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Although the existing 18th and 19th-century masonry structures withstood the storm physically, their interiors, equipment, and utility systems were severely compromised.

IYRS has an important mission as a Vo-tech program, serving one of the premier maritime ecosystems on the eastern Atlantic. The new Brooks Building for Composites and Systems Programs was designed to overcome this vulnerability. Sited in a FEMA VE flood zone, the 20,000 SF facility—dedicated to teaching modern trades like Composites Technology, Marine Systems, and Digital Modeling—embraces the substantial challenges of resiliency.

The design strategically elevates the building’s vital functions. All classroom and technical teaching spaces are located on the two upper floors, safely above the base flood elevation. The 10,000 SF ground level is engineered to be sacrificial: an open parking and storage level designed to flood. All vulnerable building systems, including utility rooms and elevator components, are also located above the flood line.

To resist storm surge, the grade-level columns are encased in concrete to withstand wave action. Any low-level enclosures, such as screens partitioning parking or storage, are designed as lightweight breakaway walls. This feature minimizes structural damage by allowing floodwaters to pass through unimpeded during a severe event.

In an era of rising sea levels, communities must find creative solutions for living with water. The Brooks Building stands as a crucial model for resiliency in a fragile urban coastal setting, ensuring that this economically vital educational center will endure as part of the Newport waterfront campus for generations.