After being approached over two years ago about the idea, Barry Diller initiated a design competition, ultimately selecting British architect Thomas Heatherwick of Heatherwick Studio, famous for designing the Olympic caldron for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Landscape architect Mathews Nielsen will also lend his hand. Some critics of the idea are not happy about the secretive planning and how private funds will be used to construct a public park. — 6sqft
Billionaire media mogul, and largest private donor to the High Line, Barry Diller has pledged $130 million of the $170 million total to build a floating park and performance venue known as Pier 55 off 14th Street in the Meatpacking District. The 2.7-acre park will be located 186 feet off land, and contain wooded nooks and three performance venues, including an amphitheater. It will be an undulating platform set atop 300 mushroom-shaped concrete columns that will range in height from 70 feet to 15 feet above the water.
3 Comments
Carnegie built libraries. What is this thing, again?
I think it's a pretty exciting design concept, a little island in the air. Could be a fantastic place to go get away from the city without leaving. And might survive the next hurricane.
^What's wrong with Diller donating money to build a park? He seems to have an interest building nice parks in this area. It's probably more benefit to the public than endowing an elite prep school or donating to a PAC.
People can donate their money where they choose. I'm commenting that Carnegie was interested in education while Diller is interested in entertainment, apparently.
And frankly I think that park looks ridiculous. It's rendered like a mini-mountain with forested slopes; I imagine it being stocked with deer so people feel like they're getting a bucolic wonderland. It's little better than Ski Dubai.
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