Reality or a figment of the imagination?
New York City is well known to house some of the most beautiful parks in the United States, as well as some of the most innovative urban designs. But famed Central Park is taking a backseat lately, as the Big Apple has unveiled a fresh combination of futuristic design with a classic love of greenery: it's called Little Island at Pier 55.
The new, free public park pier within the larger Hudson River Park opened for visitation in May 2021, but it has been in the works for years, and was even canceled at one point! Click through to take a tour through the impressive park, which is quickly being added to NYC's list of hottest attractions.
“Our idea is for a visitor to leave the city as if going to Oz, to this whimsical, playful little island in the river," said lead Little Island designer Signe Nielsen of landscape firm Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects.
The island is supported by 132 pot-shaped structures that look like a field of giant tulips suspended above the water. These structures stand on 280 concrete pilings that extend into the riverbed as deep as 200 ft (61 m) below the water.
Each pot has four to six lightweight concrete sections, aptly called "petals," which reduce the load on the pilings.
The pots vary in height, ranging between 15 and 62 feet (4.6 and 18.9 m) above the mean waterline. The design and height were intended to protect the park from a "500-year flood," which predicts that the water level in the river could rise as much as 11 ft (3.4 m).
This innovative new park is built along 13th street in Hudson River Park, in the Meatpacking District and Chelsea neighborhoods of Manhattan.
The US$260 million cost of the park, though largely funded privately, became the subject of some contention as many wondered, especially in these trying times, if an expensive park in an already affluent part of the city was really the best investment.
The designers did not want rows of columns in straight lines, so instead they used a “Cairo pentagon tilting pattern,” which is a geometric repeating pattern common to Middle Eastern art.
Geofibers, which are bits of polypropylene, were placed in the soil to stabilize it on extreme slopes, and the plantings and soil were also engineered to reduce erosion.
Evergreens and other firmer trees were planted along the perimeter to shield the park from strong winds off the Hudson River. Additionally, each corner of the park reportedly represents a different microclimate depending on topography, sun exposure, and wind patterns.
The park covers 2.4 acres of ground, which is relatively small in comparison to some of the world’s greatest artificial islands. It can reportedly fit 1,000 people simultaneously.
In the park there are over 350 species of flowers, trans-seasonal trees, and shrubs to be explored along various lawns and paths.
There is a plaza with seating and food trucks, called "The Play Ground," where you can reportedly get cocktails that are custom made for park visitors.
The ticketed shows are largely free or have low admission fees, as detailed on the lease agreement from the Hudson River Park Trust, which requires at least 51% of tickets to be under US$30.
The designers wanted visitors "to feel delight and excitement around every turn," and so everything down to the colors of the plants and their patterned arrangements was intentional.
Regarded as the “jewel of the job,” as it was the most difficult part to build, the island also hosts a stunning 687-seat amphitheater. It required lighting, electricity, plumbing, and other systems that are very difficult to install on a pier.
The varying heights of the pots were also intended by Heatherwick Studio and Mathews Neilsen Landscape Architects to give the park the appearance of a leaf floating on the Hudson.
There is also an arts and crafts area for families and children called "The Glade."
Prior to this new park, the area of Hudson River Pier 55 was deteriorating, which was only made worse by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Diller is an American business mogul, chairman and senior executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp and Expedia Group, founder of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting, and husband to fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg.
In 2011, the Diller-von Fürstenberg Family Foundation announced a donation of US$20 million to support the completion of the High Line park in Manhattan.
In 2015, Diller and von Fürstenberg contributed US$100 million to the Pier 55 project and made plans to donate another $30 million. It was stated to be the largest donation to a public park in city history. The city and state also reportedly promised to give $17 million and $18 million, respectively.
During the appeal process, Diller claimed that real estate developer Douglas Durst was financing the lawsuit against Pier 55. Durst, once former chairman of Hudson River Park Trust, had reportedly fallen out with the group, and Diller felt it was a personal attack.
In 2017, Durst confirmed that he had initially funded the City Club's lawsuit, though he told The Villager newspaper that it wasn’t personal. Durst claimed, "I have nothing against Diller—except he said he wishes I had been killed by my brother," referring to his estranged brother Robert Durst, suspected serial killer. Diller subsequently apologized for the comments.
The City Club of New York filed a lawsuit to stop the park's construction, alleging that the plans had not undergone a proper environmental review, but it was rejected by both the New York Supreme Court and the New York Court of Appeals.
Concerns rose about the pier’s impact on aquatic life in the Hudson River, and others complained about the lack of broader public input in the design of the project.
Construction was originally supposed to begin in 2015, and the park would have been completed around 2018. But construction was delayed by lawsuits from the City Club of New York and cost overruns. The plan was scrapped in September 2017.
The Little Island ticket site crashed, as a huge number of people were eager to visit. Diller said his dream project was "to build something for the people of New York and for anyone who visits New York— a space that on first sight was dazzling, and upon use made people happy."
Sources: (Engineering News-Record) (Little Island) (Dezeen) (Hypebeast) (Newsweek) (AP News)
See also: Time travel through the futuristic architecture of Zaha Hadid
The plan was revived 43 days after its cancelation when state governor Andrew Cuomo agreed to provide funding for the park and promised the ecology of the Hudson River estuary would not be negatively impacted. Construction began in April 2018, and was completed in 2021. The Diller family foundation also agreed to fund the upkeep of the park for 20 years, totaling an estimated contribution of a whopping US$380 million.
Ideas of a park started becoming concrete in 2014, and relied heavily on billionaire businessman Barry Diller's donations, though there was some early funding support from the New York City and state governments as well.
Little Island: Explore NYC's hottest new attraction
The impressive design of this $260 million artificial island park is more than meets the eye
TRAVEL New york city
New York City is well known to house some of the most beautiful parks in the United States, as well as some of the most innovative urban designs. But famed Central Park is taking a backseat lately, as the Big Apple has unveiled a fresh combination of futuristic design with a classic love of greenery: it's called Little Island at Pier 55.
The new, free public park pier within the larger Hudson River Park opened for visitation in May 2021, but it has been in the works for years, and was even canceled at one point! Click through to take a tour through the impressive park, which is quickly being added to NYC's list of hottest attractions.