The Hudson River Park Trust has announced a project to install a lush public green space hovering over the Hudson river off of New York's Lower West Side. Known as Pier 55, the space's platform would sit on top of the deteriorated Pier 54 supported by a forest of 300 blossoming pillars of varying heights. The two-and-a-half acre park would rise as much as 186 feet above the river's surface and contain three performance venues, as well as provide a breathtaking view of the city skyline.
Estimated to cost $130 million in total, $113 million would come from a donation by businessman Barry Diller and renowned fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg, representing the largest single donation to the city for a park project in its history. Conceived as a public-private partnership, the project's donors were initially approached to help preserve the old Pier 54, but the partnership led to the ambitious plans for a completely new space. The design is a collaboration between Thomas Heatherwick and his firm, who had a hand in designing the brazier for the 2012 Olympic Games, and Mathews Neilsen. Pending approval by the Hudson River Park Trust and city and state regulatory bodies, construction is slated for 2016.
via [Huffington Post]
via [designboom]
