Field Operations is the project lead for the design and implementation of the High Line. Representing one-third of the High Line, the recently opened final section at the Rail Yards is one of the most iconic stretches of the High Line with expansive views of the Hudson River and the Midtown skyline. Section 3 builds upon the identity and success of the existing High Line, yet finds new ways to respond to the radically new 21st century context of the future Hudson Yards development.
The design takes advantage of the east-west orientation to the river, respects the existing wild landscape and industrial aesthetic, and introduces the next iteration of design elements. These include new varieties of peel-up benches, a series of Rail Track Walks and tree groves that encourage users to walk along and within the train tracks, a bridge over 11th Avenue with heightened views of the River, a unique children’s play space that transforms the High Line structure itself into a series of sunken areas that children can run between, climb over and play within, and at the Western Rail Yards, a temporary walkway built over the existing, self-seeded landscape with large-scale furniture at key locations with dramatic views of the Hudson River. This latter section along the Western Rail Yards and 12th Avenue is perhaps the most authentically subtle design, where the “original” High Line landscape, with its self-sown grasses and flowers emerging from old tracks, wood ties and stone ballast, remains intact.
The High Line design is a collaboration between James Corner Field Operations (Project Lead), Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Piet Oudolf. It is a private public partnership between The City of New York and Friends of the High Line.
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