Teardrop Park
Battery Park City Teardrop Park World Trade Center World Trade Center Figure 1: Manhattan in the late 1950s, before construction of Battery City Park and the World Trade Center Figure 2: Aerial view of the fiest phase of construction on Battery Park City, with already constructed World Trade Center in the background Battery Park Figure 4: Aerial view of Lower Manhattan and Battery Park City summer 2000 during development Figure 3: Construction on the ground looking south into New York Harbor Teardrop Park is just small piece of an almost 100-acre planned community on the southwestern end of Manhattan. The community, known as Batter Park City, was built on land constructed in the 1960s and 1970s through land reclamation using rock and soil from several major construction projects, namely the World Trade Center and the New York City Water TUnnel. Teardrop Park was still being designed when the World Trade Center was attacked in 2001, and while development in the area took a hit in the follwing years, the plans for the park went ahead and the park was an importatnt part of the revitalization of the community.
Design Beginnings At around 1.8 acres, Teardrop Park is a tiny space defined on all sides by residential high rises. Before the park was constructed, the space was defined by its constraints. Originally zoned for an additional four residential units, it was a flat site dominated by sandy soil with limited sunlight. Re-zoing follwoing the plan to create playing fields, opened up an opportunity for a new park for children and adults alike, but creading a design that would inspire a sense of exploration and hold visitors was easier said than done. The client, the former president and CEO of Battery Park City Authority, envisioned a land scape that recalled his childhood home in the Catskills and would trasport kids to another place. The concept for the park was already in place, so there was no public call for designs. Instead, several designers were asked for proposals that went along with Carey s vison. had the winning design. At first, the firm had thought to bring in large rock outcroping, imitating exposed bedrock similar to that in Central Park, but the idea was soon abandoned because they felt it would be a mockery of the real thing. The team visited quarries and looked at sone to build outcroppings to cut pieces, and resulting rock formations define the nature of the site. The Ice-water wall, along with a number of other rock formations designed by artist Ann Hamilton and Michael Mercil, are some of the more dominant features of the Park. The largest wall divides the space into two main zones, each of which has their own unique character: one more rugged and a place to engage more actively with the site, the other designed for a more passive experience. In the summer, the wall covered with running water and green moss, while in the winter it is adorned with ice.
Teardrop Park
Site Analysis Teardrop Park is composed of a series of irregular spaces joined by mean dering paths and united by a theme of exploration, but more importantly by a strong attention to the site in which it is placed. The team of designeres and other professionals working on Teardrop Park had to design a space that acknowledged the poor conditions on the site, altering those that could be changed and using thoses that could not to their advantages. The high rises on all sides block out most of the sun, with the northern half receiving the most light. To maximize on this light, the designers placed the lawn area here, and the grade was tilted up to the south south to increase the exposure even more. Other studies done by the designers revealed that the Southern half was sheltered from the wind more, so this is where they placed the play areas for children. Because of the site s harsher conditions, the topographic elements on the iste are created partially with synthetic materials, which increase the durability of the landforms. Plastic square grids,calle geogrids, help reinforce the constructed landforms and prevent slope failures, and geofibers, used closed to the surface, prevent erosion and to allow for more flexibility in placement of rock and plant materials.
Sustainablity Part of designing an environment that references another is the careful choice of plant materials. Because the park was meant to recall the landscape of the Hudson Valley and the Catskills, it was important to choose from a palette of ntive species, but also ones that could survive on the site, because a major aspect of the design solution spoke to sustainability. More than half of the matierals used in construction were obtained from within 500 miles of the iste, much of the materials used were recycled, storm water is collected on sites and filtered and reused for irrigation, play, and display, and the vegetation was chosen to suit the microclimate on the site. Further Informaton: http://www.asla.org/2009awards/001.html https://www.asla.org/lamag/lam07/february/feature2.html http://www.usgbc.org/docs/archive/mediaarchive/403_fleisher_pa527.pdf http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/04/realestate/battery-park-city-quasi-suburban.html?_r=0