A common theme that was seen in many of the parks yesterday was water, either in the form of a designed feature or the park was situated next to a body of water. Today, however, the main focus was the waterfront parks of Manhattan. The city is surrounded by water on three sides, so it is no surprise that this element plays such an integral role in many of the parks.
From what we have seen so far, it seems that a decent amount of the waterfront space has been developed for public use. In contrast to the East River Esplanade that we visited yesterday, the parks on the west side that we visited today were connected by the water, but quite fragmented in their designs. Although some concepts may have been carried on, it was apparent when you reached the boundary between different sections or parks. A good example of this was at Riverside Park South. The concept of the smaller scale overlooks mimicking the shape and orientation of the old piers was repeated along the length of the park system, but each section designed by a different person created a series of separate spaces. Each area provided a new experience, whether it was the circulation patterns, seating options, or art pieces. Also, as we walked along the shoreline, through Chelsea Piers down to Battery Park, there was almost a continuous line of parks, but each one was unique.
In the transect that I studied for today, I tried to emphasize the interaction with the water. Chelsea Piers was one of the sites that we visited today. In order to get there, we got off a bus and had to walk down a few blocks westward to the shore. As we walked along this road, we experienced many different conditions: walking under a dense tree canopy, being surrounded on both sides by tall buildings, crossing a few streets, passing underneath the High Line, and finally crossing into the park. The photo transect shown illustrates the journey to the water starting at the entrance to the park. These photos, taken roughly 30 steps apart, follow the path from the park entrance down to the end of Pier 64 (from the last image moving up to the first). The pier was quite a long, linear path, with the water on one side and terrain on the other. It is not until you reach the end of the pier that you are visually surrounded by water on almost all sides. I thought it was interesting how the topography designed by Van Valkenburgh influenced this journey through the park and down the pier to the water. All of the parks that we visited today had a slightly different approach to the interaction with the water.
Pamella Selby.
From what we have seen so far, it seems that a decent amount of the waterfront space has been developed for public use. In contrast to the East River Esplanade that we visited yesterday, the parks on the west side that we visited today were connected by the water, but quite fragmented in their designs. Although some concepts may have been carried on, it was apparent when you reached the boundary between different sections or parks. A good example of this was at Riverside Park South. The concept of the smaller scale overlooks mimicking the shape and orientation of the old piers was repeated along the length of the park system, but each section designed by a different person created a series of separate spaces. Each area provided a new experience, whether it was the circulation patterns, seating options, or art pieces. Also, as we walked along the shoreline, through Chelsea Piers down to Battery Park, there was almost a continuous line of parks, but each one was unique.
In the transect that I studied for today, I tried to emphasize the interaction with the water. Chelsea Piers was one of the sites that we visited today. In order to get there, we got off a bus and had to walk down a few blocks westward to the shore. As we walked along this road, we experienced many different conditions: walking under a dense tree canopy, being surrounded on both sides by tall buildings, crossing a few streets, passing underneath the High Line, and finally crossing into the park. The photo transect shown illustrates the journey to the water starting at the entrance to the park. These photos, taken roughly 30 steps apart, follow the path from the park entrance down to the end of Pier 64 (from the last image moving up to the first). The pier was quite a long, linear path, with the water on one side and terrain on the other. It is not until you reach the end of the pier that you are visually surrounded by water on almost all sides. I thought it was interesting how the topography designed by Van Valkenburgh influenced this journey through the park and down the pier to the water. All of the parks that we visited today had a slightly different approach to the interaction with the water.
Pamella Selby.