Heralded as Manhattan’s largest new park since central park was constructed in the 1800s, Hudson River Park stretches from Battery Park City to 59th Street along the western Manhattan shoreline. ABB’s initiation of Phase I signified the reclamation of NYC’s waterfront from an inaccessible and deteriorating industrial waterfront to a public open space destination offering various recreational opportunities.
As the project’s prime consultant, ABB led a multi-disciplinary team of eleven consultants. ABB provided design services from programming through construction administration for two distinct project aspects: waterfront structures and upland park. The waterfront design included the restoration of the existing historic granite bulkhead, reconstruction of relieving platforms, and reconstruction of three piers for recreational use. The upland park design included all on-grade portions of the park and all finishes for the piers including architectural elements, softscape and hardscape treatments, and all supporting infrastructure.
The linear upland park includes a continuous waterfront esplanade constructed of distinctive granite and bluestone pavement. Spatial diversity is achieved via open lawn areas back-dropped with lush plantings, through the subtle use of topographic variations, and with the creation of plaza spaces. Plaza spaces respond to park entrances, pier connections, river overlook areas, and esplanade features such as the pedestrian bridge at the historic bow notch. A magnificent granite fountain, a display garden, a dog run, two comfort stations and a food concession are located within the upland park. The three piers offer varied recreational opportunities. Pier 45 features a natural lawn for passive recreation, two tensile fabric shade structures, a tensile fabric pavilion, and an interactive water feature. Pier 46 features a synthetic turf playfield, seating beneath the shade of a tree bosque, and a picnic grove. Pier 51 features play structures including a water play area, a ship’s prow jutting out over the edge of the pier, and a shade canopy for respite.