JLGA has designed a new entrance pavilion for one of NYC’s premier green recreation spaces, the newly dedicated Jack McManus Field and Park on Roosevelt Island. The now ADA-accessible, sustainable building serves as a public welcome station, concession stand, and park storage.

JLGA’s design strategy focused on two core challenges: salvage and transform an outdated, irregularly shaped existing structure into a more integrated, modern, and welcoming presence, create a recognizable and accessible principal entrance that unifies and readily identifies this recreational green space to the community.
Our design strategy for the gutted structure leveraged its atypical footprint to express an artful, unconventional form through the addition of an asymmetrical green roof—and saved a treasured tree.

The 2,000 SF roof, designed as an independent structure to support plant loads, tips gently upward like a bird’s wing, creating a strong aesthetic gesture and visual connection to the green field and park. The sloped roof hosts an extensive vegetation system featuring a sedum plant mix that sustains all-seasons growth and helps manage storm water, mitigate air pollution, provide wildlife habitat, foster biodiversity, and reduce urban heat island effects. Recycled, weathered wood sustainably and visually relates to the green space. New energy-efficient light fixtures brighten the site, and new plumbing reduces water use and waste.

JLGA collaborated with landscape design firm Abel Bainnson & Butz, which designed the new Jack McManus Field and Park. The design added over 1,300 shrubs, new trees, ornamental grasses, and perennials, which together shape a lush, 8,000 SF urban oasis.