See Photos of NYC’s New Flood-Proof, Prefab Beach Buildings in the Rockaways

On Memorial Day, some of the NYC beaches hit hardest by <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tags/hurricane-sandy" target="_blank">Hurricane Sandy</a> got a new start with the opening of a slew of new <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/see-pics-of-the-new-flood-proof-prefab-beach-buildings-nyc-plans-to-roll-out-this-summer/">flood-proof, prefab lifeguard stations, comfort stations and offices </a>designed by <a href="http://garrisonarchitects.com/">Garrison Architects</a>. Inhabitat recently checked out a few of these futuristic, prefab structures at Rockaway Beach. Step inside our photo gallery to see some of the interior and exterior details of these elevated, self-ventilated, solar-powered structures.

The real-life structures look pretty darn close to the renderings, don't you agree?

Many of the 37 new lifeguard stations, public bathrooms and offices have already been rolled out at 15 different sites in NYC.

Since there would be no point in rebuilding if the new structures were unable to withstand future storms, Garrison made sure that the buildings were elevated above the newly updated FEMA <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/surge/" target="_blank">storm surge levels</a> and also designed them to be <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/net-zero/" target="_blank">net-zero energy</a>.

Many areas of Rockaway Beach, like this section of boardwalk, are still being rebuilt, but that hasn't stopped beachgoers from enjoying the parts of the beach that are already open.

The structures are equipped with solar hot water heating, skylight ventilators and photovoltaic panels for electricity.

The <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/see-pics-of-the-new-flood-proof-prefab-beach-buildings-nyc-plans-to-roll-out-this-summer/">durable steel buildings </a>are 15 feet wide x 12 feet high and either 57 or 47 feet long.

In order to meet the rigid May 27th deadline, the structures were first constructed at a factory in a very systemized manner.

This off-site fabrication eliminated any potential weather delays.

The view from inside one of the new pod bathrooms. Not too shabby!

The insides of the bathroom pods have large windows all the way across the sides.

The comfort stations also feature natural ventilation, which, as you might imagine, is very important for bathrooms on hot summer days.

Glass tile was used to line the interiors of the bathroom pods, lending a much more high-end feel than what New Yorkers are used to in beach restrooms.

In terms of design, we think you'll agree that the beach buildings look pretty nifty in addition to being extremely hardy and net-zero. U

A model of the structures.

Many of the beach pods are still in progress, but they're getting pretty close to what the renderings look like.