We spent ten days in NYC recently checking out some incredible projects, old and new, like Domino Sugar Park, Little Island, One Vanderbilt, the recently opened Perelman Performing Arts Centre and a new arm of the Highline developed as a PPP, the Moynihan Connector.
It was also awesome to grab a walking tour of the Meatpacking District, one of NYC’s original BIDs and recently opened Pier 57 with Placemaking X’s Ethan Kent, and fellow Aussie in town Cam Perkins.
We squeezed in a few talks at the AIA Centre for Architecture and checked out some great programs like Open Streets NYC, led by NYC’s DOT, a temporary covid initiative now made permanent, dedicating streets back to pedestrians.
Other highlights included the recently completed Gansevoort Peninsula, by Field Operations and nARCHITECTS, which has seen a former pier and industrial landfill site transformed into a new two hectare public space on the Hudson River waterfront.
The precinct, which was also designed to help NYC help improve climate change resilience and act as a buffer against rising tides, is also filled with a variety of amenity, promenades, a salt marsh, sports infrastructure and even Manhattan’s first public beachfront. It’s awesome, large-scale sculpture by artist David Hammons was donated by nearby Whitney Museum.
Finally we checked out the much anticipated Domino Sugar project we’ve been watching for the last five years or so. While the adaptive reuse of the old refinery building into a modern office is a little lackluster, the public realm and river facing park is certainly impressive featuring a range of dwell spots, shade structures, dog zones and active recreation zones, sprinkled with lots of great heritage interpretation.
