Governors Island Park and Open Space Competition
New York City, New York
The Hargreaves Associates proposal preserves and enhances the inherent attractions of Governors Island while introducing new qualities of movement and orientation, distinct landscape typologies and programmatic potentials. Collaborating with Michael Maltzan Architecture to design towards a $200 million construction budget, the Hargreaves plan integrates the 82 acre proposed park and development parcels of the South Island with the 90 acre historic North Island. The park’s central feature is the promenade ‘Necklace’, a multi-circuit, three-dimensional system of movement that encircles the island’s edge and offers a dynamic sequence of views and interaction with the water. The interior of the island is characterized by six landscape typologies which provide distinct scales and kinds of space, light, and enclosure. From Pine Barrens and Dunescapes to historical orchards and athletic fields, the landscape typologies accommodate a diverse range of programs, events, and park users. Public Axes cut across the island to orient views toward the major icons on the water: the Statue of Liberty, the Verrazano Bridge, and lower Manhattan. These linear boulevards act as public viewing terraces and connective threads while also playing an important infrastructural role as the water and energy spines of the design.
