Friday, February 5, 2021 – Watch for a floating attraction this summer in the Hudson

By admin

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2021

The

279th  Edition

From Our Archives

A FLOATING PARK

IN THE HUDSON

In the middle of winter with snow on the ground and masks on our faces, it is time to think of a park of whimsy that will open this summer in the Hudson River at Pier 55.

THE MATERIAL IN THIS EDITION COMES FROM THE SPONSOR LITTLE ISLAND AT PIER 55.  WE OFFER NO OPINIONS JUST THE IMAGES OF WHAT WILL SOON BLOOM IN THE HUDSON RIVER.  MAY IT BE GREETED WITH AS MUCH ENTHUSIASM AS MOYNIHAN STATION

From Little Island at Pier 55:
In 2013, Barry Diller, in partnership with Hudson River Park Trust leadership, embarked on the unique opportunity to envision a solution for the repair and reactivation of Pier 54, recently damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Diller chose to reimagine an entirely new type of public space for New York, one that would create an immersive experience with nature and art.

Diller called on the expertise of industry leaders in the arts—Scott Rudin, Stephen Daldry, George C. Wolfe, and Kate Horton—to explore the vast possibilities of creating a new public park with the arts as an integrated component. This team, together with Hudson River Park, selected the design firms of Heatherwick Studio and MNLA to realize this vision. The two firms combined architectural innovation with a captivating landscape to provide visitors with an oasis from urban life where they could play, relax, imagine, and restore.

Little Island is an initiative of The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation (DVFFF), with support from the City of New York. The DVFFF’s considerable philanthropic history extends to several other New York City parks and arts organizations including The High Line, The Statue of Liberty Museum, Signature Theatre, Carnegie Hall Society, and the Central Park Conservancy.

Born from a collaboration of the UK-based Heatherwick Studio and the New York-based landscape architecture firm MNLA, led by Signe Nielsen, the park’s imaginative design offers all New Yorkers and visitors a new public space that is whimsical, captivating, and restorative.

STRUCTURAL DESIGN

Heatherwick Studio explored the idea of designing a new pier that could draw from the remaining wooden piles from Pier 54.

“My studio and I became interested in the remains of the old piers on the west side of Manhattan, where their top surfaces had long gone, leaving only hundreds of ancient structural wooden piles sticking out of the river.”

“We wondered if the identity of our new park and performance space could emerge from the water, just like these structural piles, but without needing to add any slab on top. This idea evolved to take the new concrete piles that would be needed to connect to the granite at the base of the river, and to then continue them out of the water, extending skyward to raise sections of a generous green landscape with rich horticulture. Fusing at they meet, these 280 individual piles come together to form the undulating topography of the park, angled perfectly for performance and theatre spaces.Once complete and open to the public in 2021 the result should be a unique and thrilling landscape over the water for everyone to enjoy.”

-Thomas Heatherwick
Founder, Heatherwick Studio

LANDSCAPE DESIGN

MNLA’s landscape design was conceived as a leaf floating on water – a space that could be both visually surprising and inspiring for New York City.

“The pier’s landscape will be a sensory delight in all seasons and times of day.”

“The lifted corners of the pier create distinct microclimates that reveal themselves through color, texture, light and shadow. Whether meandering along paths or taking alternate routes of stairs or boulders scrambles, the eye is at times directed downward to the rich palette of plants or outwards to spectacular views of the city and harbor. Little Island will be a maritime botanic garden with 35 species of trees, 65 species of shrubs, and 270 varieties of grasses, perennials, vines, and bulbs, many of which have been selected for their fragrance and attractiveness to birds and pollinators. The landscape is one of sweeping swaths of textures and seasonally calibrated color themes punctuated by magnificent trees.”

-Signe Nielsen
Principal, MNLA

Explore the Island

The park features seating lawns, gentle slopes, winding pathways leading to dazzling views, and a variety of spaces for performances and play as well as rest and relaxation. The undulating topography of this oasis will surprise and inspire visitors with its range of elevations, lush landscaping, and hidden meadows, encouraging visitors to return time and again to explore all that Little Island has to offer.

FRIDAY PHOTOS OF THE DAY

SEND YOUR SUBMISSION TO:
ROOSEVELTISLANDHISTORY@GMAIL.COM

THURSDAY  PHOTO  OF THE DAY

ITTLE ISLAND AT PIER 55
SUSAN RODETIS AND LISA FERNANDEZ GOT IT RIGHT!!

EDITORIAL

When I saw this plan, I thought it was nuts. I do not know if I was crazy of just my jaded skeptical self.  Let’s see how the park works out this summer. Yes, we will have to traverse Manhattan Island to get there!

Judy Berdy

WE ARE WORKING ON A LINK TO RESERVE YOUR PLACE AT THE ZOOM EVENT.  STAY TUNED.

Text by Judith Berdy
Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS
Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website
Edited by  Deborah Dorff
Roosevelt Island Historical Society

Sources
LITTLE ISLAND AT PIER 55  (C)

FUNDING PROVIDED BY ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE GRANTS CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BEN KALLOS DISCRETIONARY FUNDING THRU DYCD

Copyright © 2021 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com