Governors Island Park and Public Spaces
Governors Island Park and Public Spaces
New York, United States
The Park and Public Spaces of Governors Island transform a former military base into one of the most beloved crown jewels of New York’s waterfront parks system. Developed from the winning entry of a 2006 design competition, the vision for the park was developed into a richly conceived, multi-phase park project that incorporates play, public art, food and water feature amenities, naturalized groves and woodlands, and most of all, a dramatic new topography that forever changes the experience of the Island.
Over seven years and through the course of public engagement, pilot projects, and two major design phases, the Island now offers an arrival from Manhattan or Brooklyn by Ferry, a free bike program, monumental topography, and the ability for visitors to spend a care-free day in the foreground of Manhattan and 360-degree panoramic views of The Verrazano Bridge, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Brooklyn’s waterfront. Dramatic new hills are engineered from innovative geotechnical approaches while simultaneously offering thrilling play spaces, habitat value, and viewsheds that could never have been seen before.
The design team spent hundreds of hours on the island, in all types of weather and seasons, to study micro and macro site conditions. The team understood from the outset that the new park would need to be resilient in the face of rising waters. The majority of the island is sculpted and filled to be out of the flood zone. Tree species have been planted according to their salt tolerance and topsoil is placed above predicted sea level rise, protecting their roots and ensuring a healthy forest for the future. These measures to address rising sea levels and more intense storms proved to be worthwhile as the island withstood Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
As Senior Landscape Architects at West 8, Unknown Studio’s Claire Agre, Dave Zielnicki and Lisa DuRussel contributed to and led the project’s design from master plan through construction documentation and construction administration for the park over a seven year period (2009-2016).
Project timeline: 2009-2016
Client: The Trust for Governors Island
Scope: Master Plan, Full Design Services
Project Type: Park | Waterfront
Size: 87 acres
Budget: $200 Million (all Phases)
Team: West 8 urban design & landscape architecture, p.c. (Prime Consultant)
Claire Agre, Principal & Senior Landscape Architect
Dave Zielnicki, Senior Landscape Architect
Lisa DuRussel, Senior Landscape Architect
Consultants: Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, Magnusson Klemencic Associates, AKRF, Hart Crowser Inc., Pentagram, Tillotson Design Associates, Dagher Associates, Pine and Swallow Environmental, Northern Designs, Code Consulting Inc., Faithful & Gould, ETM Associates, Langan, Fluidity, Construction Specifications, Inc, Linda Stone, RPA, Rogers Marvel Architects, Diller, Scofidio + Renfro
Awards & Recognition:
Great Places in America, American Planning Association, 2019
Best New Urban Landscape, Municipal Art Society of New York, 2017
Jury Winner in the Public Park Category for Governors Island, Architizer A+ Awards, 2017
Honor Award in General Design for Governors Island, American Society of Landscape Architects NY Chapter, 2017
AZ Awards Finalist in Public Landscape Category for Governors Island, 2017
The International Architecture Award for Phase 1 Governors Island Park & Public Space, The Chicago Athenaeum and Metropolitan Arts Press Ltd., 2017
Honor Award for Governors Island Phase 1, American Society of Landscape Architects NY Chapter, 2014
Award Winner, “Sites Built by Women New York City,” Beverly Willis Foundation, 2014. Honor Award for Governors Island Master Plan, American Society of Landscape Architects NY Chapter, 2012
