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The Impacts of the High Line New York City

October 28, 2015 Steven L. Cantor, New York City

Landscape Architect

Building GreenCopenhagen, Denmark

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Green roofs• Steven L. Cantor, Green Roofs in Sustainable

Landscape Design, (WWNorton, 2008)

I. OverviewII. Design ProcessIII. Plant Materials,

Irrigation and Specifications

IV. EuropeV. Case Studies -

North AmericaVI. TrendsVII. Appendices

Emory Knoll Farms; Street, MD.Ed Snodgrass

Chapter VI has a section on the High Line. (p. 295- 298)

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Articles on the High Line• “Promenade Plantee and the High Line,” Landscape

Architecture Magazine, October, 2009, p. 98 -99.

• “A Comparison of the Three Phases of the High Line, New York City, a Photographer’s and Landscape Architect’s Perspective,” www.greenroofs.com, 14 part series, from December 19, 2013 to January 16, 2015.

• www.thehighline.org

• SCantorRLA@aol.com

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Chronology1. Viaduct opened in 1934 to carry trains directly

to factories and warehouses for loading and unloading above the street.

2. Modern truck traffic at street level gradually superseded freight trains over about 50 years.

3. Friends of High Line founded 1999 by Joshua David and Robert Hammond.

4. West Chelsea/ High Line Rezoning, 20055. Construction started on Phase I in 2006. 6. Total cost of 3 phases is about $ 170 million.

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Existing Conditions vs. Construction Phase

View from London Terrace View from London Terracesummer, 2006 summer, 2011

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LEAD DESIGNERS

Promenade Plantée

1. Jacques Vergely, landscape architect

2. Philippe Mathieux, architect

The High Line1. James Corner,

landscape architect, Field Operations

2. Ricardo Scofidio, architect, Diller Scofidio + Renfro

3. Piet Oudolf, planting design

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COMPARISONPromenade Plantée 1. Paris2. Viaduct abandoned 19693. Built between 1988-1993

4. Elev. portion 1.5 km (.9 mi)5. Uniform width6. Formal/traditional plantings7. Linear pool of water8. Trelliage9. Simplicity

The High Line1. New York City2. Viaduct abandoned 19803. PHASE I 2009; II 2011;

III 20144. Three phases 2.5 km (1.5 mi)5. Variable width: 9 to 27 meters

(30 to 88 ft.)6. Naturalistic plantings7. Water feature to walk in8. Public art9. Complexity/ integration

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Comparisons - Water featuresPromenade High Line

Adjacent to a major seating area, a moving sheet of water in which to dip one’s feet.

Symmetrical quiet, linear pool with paths and trees on either side

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Promenade High Line

A simple, secluded pathway with occasional views of Paris.

A complex journey through several neighborhoods in NYC.

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Map of High Line, as built, 2015 (Source: Wikipedia)

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Whitney Museum of American ArtRenzo Piano, architect and Gansevoort Woodland

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Whitney Museum of American Art

View of Gansevoort Woodland from above

View of the museum from the High Line

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14th Street Entry

The route forks; restrooms are to the right at the entrance to a hotel

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Diller- Von Furstenberg Sundeck Unique Benches

Benches on wheels which appear to move over the railroad tracks.

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Diller- Von FurstenbergSundeck and Water Feature

Earlier design of pyramidal planks proved hazardous

The configuration was changed to be safe all year round.

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Ph. 1 vs. Ph. 2: Water Feature

The current design is much simpler.

People like getting their feet wet.

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Chelsea Market and Northern Spur Horticultural Preserve

The original train route went into the building at the right. The plantings beneath the deck are a horticultural preserve using plant materials which had colonized the original site.

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10th Avenue Square

Ipe wood deck with amphitheater seating with a view of 10th Avenue.

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10th Avenue Square

Ipe wood deck with iconic, integrated benches with lighting.Three- flowered maple Acer triflorum

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10th Avenue Sq. at Chelsea Grasslands

The ipe wood deck inserts neatly into the concrete plank pavement.

Architecture by Frank Gehry and Jean Nouvel in the distance.

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COMPARISON of HIGH LINE PHASE ONE AND PHASE TWOPhase One 1. Benches and wood

deck constructed of ipe2. Most benches without

backs3. Complex water feature4. Signs: keep it wild5. Silent drinking fountains

Phase Two1. Benches and bleachers of

recycled teak or wood composite. Some painted.

2. Many benches with backs. Chairs added.

3. Simple water feature 4. More accurate signs5. Interactive drinking

fountain

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Phase 2 Public Art

Sarah Sze – “Still Life with Landscape – Model for a Habitat” Fanciful stainless steel sculpture that includes boxes for birds’ nests.

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Seating Steps -- BleachersSteps are set against the walkway and provide space for people to sit, watch and picnic - lighting is built into the structure.

The material used is recycled teak.

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The LawnElevated lawn area of 455 square meters (4,900 SF) for picnicking, sunbathing and people watching.

The glass-faced building in the background is called HL23 by architect Neil Denari. It has a curved profile to create more floor space above a very narrow footprint at the ground level.

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Julianne Swartz, Digital Empathy

“Digital Empathy” is set within the public water fountains, elevators, and bathrooms. These supposedly inanimate objects greet visitors with messages of empathy and love.

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“Philip A. and Lisa Maria Falcone Flyover”

The walk elevates to a height of 2.4 meters (8 feet) over the planting beds below.

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Viewing SpurWhile elevated above the plantings, the walkway connects to a seating area with a billboard frame which looks over the street below. The “billboard” also frames a view from below for pedestrians and vehicular passengers to see into the park.

Bigleaf magnolia is sheltered between two large benches. Benches are made of composite material. Phase 1 benches: ipe

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Wildflower Field Simple edges of a long, wooden (composite) bench and concrete curbs enclose large beds of diverse wildflowers.

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30th Street Cut-Out At the end of Phase Two construction, there is a view of the underside of the viaduct -- the steel has been re-finished and painted.

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Zinco greenroof cross section

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Railroad track inventions

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11th Avenue Bridge

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Pershing Square Berms

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Interim Walkway

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Entry/ Exit at West 34th Street

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INTEGRATED VOCABULARY

Iconic ipe benches with typical illumination from underneath.Concrete plank curves up gracefully into the end of the bench.

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Exuberant Plantings

Plantings integrated with layout of the railroad tracks provide seasonal interest all year. Foxtail lily – Eremurus stenophyllus

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Materials – drinking fountainWater drains into the grate and into the planting beds.

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Lighting

Bench lighting and LED (light emitting diode) lighting in the guardrail built onto the top of the trestle’s exterior railing.

Bollard light posts decorate some planting beds.

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LightingSome areas are left dark. LED lighting under guardrails gives linear accent.

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Garden or Urban Park?

GARDEN: a plot of ground where herbs, fruits, flowers or vegetables are cultivated.

URBAN PARK: a protected area in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, with ownership and maintenance by a city or local government.

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SignsPhase 1 Sign from 2009.

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Signs

• Phase two signs direct pedestrians not to walk on the plants.

• An icon is included to indicate the behavior to eliminate.

• The text no longer refers to whether the park is “wild” or not.

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Maintenance

Annual maintenance budget: $ 670,000 per acre or $ 1,675,000 per hectare

Next highest budget: Bryant Park $ 480,000/ acre or $ 1,200,000 /hect.Source: Alex Unam, Land. Arch. Magazine and NY Post, Oct., 2009

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Maintenance: New railingsGradual replacement of flexible, green knee high cable set randomly with rigid, stronger metal railings set at right angles

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Negative impacts: complex maintenance of integrated design with unique elements

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Mixed Impacts – increase in dense urban development with new infrastructure– Hudson Yards

Courtesy of Related-Oxford

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Mixed Impacts – increase in dense urban development with new infrastructure– Hudson Yards

Courtesy of Related-Oxford

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Mixed Impacts – increase in dense urban development – Hudson Yards

Courtesy of Related-Oxford

Hudson Yards – vast new urban development. The entire proposed development is estimated to cost $ 30 billion but also generate huge revenue for NYC.

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Negative Impacts – increase in dense urban development

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Negative Impacts – High Line is becoming a narrow canyon

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Negative Impacts: lack of services for residents

BEFORE1. Neighborhood

restaurants2. Cobblers (shoes)3. Laundries4. Gas stations5. Small shops6. Evictions of tenants

in rental buildings

AFTER1. High priced

restaurants2. Luxury high rise

apartment buildings3. Boutiques4. Large franchises5. Facilities for tourists,

such as hotels

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Negative Impacts: crowding

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Negative Impacts: lack of connectivity with sustainable design

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Negative impacts: lack of restrooms and drinking fountains for seasonal use only

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Negative Impacts: the High Line risks becoming a corporate brand rather than

continuing to thrive as an urban park

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Mixed Impacts: Public Art

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Positive impacts – establishment of Chelsea as an art center

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Positive impacts – expansion of traditional planting palette

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Positive impacts- provides a unique view of the urban fabric of city living

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Positive impacts – connects adjacent neighborhoods; Walk to work

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Positive impacts – revitalization of neighborhoods

Stores and new apartments New apt. building by Jean Nouvel

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Positive impacts: expands the vocabulary of what is an urban park

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Positive impacts: benches of all types and configurations

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Positive impacts: creation of both intimate and public space within a narrow platform

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Conclusion

Will it be possible to keep most visitors fully engaged and delighted?

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Conclusion

What will these babies see on the High Line during their lifetimes?

How will it evolve?