Archinect - News

Battery Park City gears up for major transformation that will make it more resilient to sea level rise

2022-07-28T13:00:00-04:00

New York’s Battery Park City will soon undergo a series of major resiliency projects that will completely transform the Lower Manhattan coast as the threats of storm surge and sea level rise loom.

Starting in September, after Labor Day, the first phase of the multibillion-dollar Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency (LMCR) Project, led by Battery Park City Authority, is set to break ground. Called the South Battery Park City Resiliency Project (SBPCR), the endeavor will see the creation of a continuous flood barrier from the Museum of Jewish Heritage, through Wagner Park, across Pier A Plaza, and along the northern border of the Historic Battery to an elevated point near Bowling Green Plaza.

South Battery Park City Resiliency Project, site plan. Image: Battery Park City Authority

The project is expected to last two years and, when complete, will feature expansive lawns and gardens; education, community, dining, and programming spaces; public restrooms; and universal access. The projec...

New York City is moving its planned COVID memorial from Battery Park after protests

2021-07-09T16:55:00-04:00

Ten days after Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed plans to build a new monument in Lower Manhattan honoring New York's essential workers who served on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state is now working out a new plan after protesters detoured construction in Battery Park City.

The state had already broken ground on the project late in June before backing out this week thanks to an incredible amount of public backlash against it. The governor’s plan for the monument was so fast-moving that it had initially been slated to open on Labor Day before this week’s pause.

A petition drive had garnered over 8,000 votes online before the announcement. There will be a committee meeting to discuss a potential new location on Wednesday. Gothamist has more on the protest and relocation effort here.

Buro Happold unveils sustainability plan for Battery Park City

2020-09-08T17:02:00-04:00

Buro Happold and the Battery Park City Authority have published a 10-year sustainability plan that aims to achieve carbon neutrality for the 36-acre district situated on the southern tip of Manhattan by 2050.

The district, which sits just beside the World Trade Center site, contains over 22 million square feet of built area, according to Buro Happold's report, and its new plan is considered among the largest such district visions in the country.

The plan aims to articulate a "holistic vision" for drawing down operating emissions from buildings in the area through a mix of approaches that includes deep energy retrofits, building electrification conversions, low-carbon district energy systems, implementation of renewable energy supply and storage advances, and extensive monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the plan would implement wastewater treatment and recycling strategies, including for storm water runoff, greater supervision of construction waste streams, and va...

The top five finalists for The Battery Conservancy’s Draw Up A Chair competition

2013-11-26T21:02:00-05:00

The Battery Conservancy is one step closer to finding the winning outdoor chair design of their Draw Up A Chair competition for The Battery park in New York City. The competition began with 679 submissions in July 2012. Then the jury selected the Top 50 designs, which were exhibited for the public to see and use over the past six months.

The top five designs are:

Fleurt by Andrew Jones Design: Andrew Jones (Toronto, Canada) — see top image

Maple Chair by Maria Camarena Design: Maria Camarena Bernard (Zapopan, Mexico)

Pivot Chair by Independent Design Group: Simon Kristak & Aidan Jamison (Brooklyn, USA)

South Chair by Jason Bird (Redwood City, USA)

U Rock by Pitanga: Davi Deusdara, Érica Martins, Tais Costa & Rafael Studart Alencar (Falcão, Brazil)

All images courtesy of The Battery Conservancy Americas "Draw Up A Chair" Design Competition.

For more details, read the Bustler article.

AMERICAS DESIGN COMPETITION

2012-07-05T16:32:00-04:00

The Battery Conservancy invites students and professionals from the Americas (North, Central, South and the Caribbean), to design an iconic moveable outdoor seating element. The winning design will be fabricated for use in The Battery, the 25-acre park at the tip of Manhattan, which annually welcomes six million visitors.

Goldman Sachs occupies Battery Park City?

2012-07-02T23:12:00-04:00

One afternoon, three mellow residents — Anita Inglese, 86, Marilyn Amdur, 85, and Joan Ruberti, 81, all widows — talked about the offerings of the alley. “It’s nice for us,” Ms. Inglese said. “We need places to walk to."...“I’ve been in all the places,” Ms. Amdur said. “One thing that’s good is they put in this long bench. You need to rest sometimes.”...Ms. Ruberti said, “I love it because everything is brand new.”

N. R. Kleinfield visits "Goldman Alley" site of Goldman’s new Battery Park City headquarters. Looking for the right kind of neighborhood establishments, Goldman's brought in a range of new businesses from gourmet grocers and florists to outposts of Shake Shack, Blue Smoke barbecue and even a new Conrad (a higher-end Hilton brand) to replace an older Embassy Suites on-site.

Previously Michael Kimmelman wrote A Canopy as Social Cathedral about the new(ish) canopy designed by Preston Scott Cohen which covers North End Way, aka "Goldman Alley" in Battery Park City.

A Canopy as Social Cathedral

2012-06-04T21:24:00-04:00

the canopy covers 11,000 square feet of an easement in Battery Park City; effectively, North End Way is a north-south passageway or alley, lined with shops and restaurants. Part of what makes this a notable public space is the quality of construction... But it’s the canopy, which Goldman also commissioned, that formally elevates what is really just a gap between two buildings into something almost as inspired as the nave of a great Gothic cathedral.