URBAN MEADOW BKLYN
New York City-based landscape design firms XS Space and Balmori Associates have transformed an 8,000 square foot vacant lot owned by The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation into a verdant meadow with gently rolling hills of grasses, wildflowers, and flowering trees in downtown Brooklyn, NY. Initially conceived as a temporary landscape, this project received such overwhelming support by the local community that the New York City Parks Department adopted it under the auspices of its Community Garden “Greenthumb” program. Since the completion of the design and installation by Balmori Associates and XS Space this summer, this new park will be maintained by local residents.
Two large signs posted at the entrance to the park enumerate the environmental benefits of this newly vegetated site’s footprint on the environment. Scientists from Columbia University’s Center for Climate Studies were asked by the designers to study the impact of this site on surrounding air and water pollution, the Urban Heat Island Effect, and resulting health problems for NYC residents. The scientific data they collected quantifies the site’s increased capacity to absorb storm water run-off, offset carbon emissions, and create a cooler microclimate.
CLIENT Clean Air Communities, Con Edison, New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), The lily Auchincloss Foundation, American Stevedoring Inc., The Independence Community Foundation and The Architectural League / STATUS Completed 2003 / SIZE 8,000 SF / DESIGN TEAM , XS Space/Balmori, The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation+Greenthumb, Office of the Brooklyn Borough, Center for Climate Studies – Columbia, University, Alan Dye Graphic Design