INTRODUCTION Battery Park City was built upon the soil and rocks excavated during the construction of the World Trade Center and sand dredged from New York Harbor off of Staten Island.
Named for the adjacent park, Battery Park City is an exciting mix of residential areas, offices complexes, walking and bike paths and several beautiful waterfront parks.
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LOCATION: Manhattan, NY BUILDING TYPE: Residential, Commercial, Recreational CATEGORY: Urban renewal / Greenfield development YEAR: 2000 AREA: 92 acres
CITY STRUCTURE LOCATION:
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Located in southwestern and is bordered on the by the North Esplanade, on the by Battery Place and the Hudson River, on the by the Hudson River and on the by West Street.
CONCEPTION Battery Park City began as a vi
Known as a of both New York and the world, the gradually became an in-demand center for residential housing as well. It has been home to many innovative ideas to improve the urban experience. There were many
for Battery Park City proposed . They all had three goals in common:
To expand the area of lower Manhattan; To get people living downtown again; and
To provide lower Manhattan with a few more trees and some open space.
EVOLUTION 1962 – REVITALIZATION
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in the Hudson River in Tribeca region initiated the for Battery Park City. A study of the Hudson waterfront revealed that the site may have a different potential. The idea was to build an , with a sort of industrial esplanade along the edge. The plan however was badly received.
1966 – INTEGRATED SOCIETY: The idea of building attractive proposition for
seemed like an
. The Governor’s plan was to not simply house people coming out of slums but to give them a superior . However this scheme too was not well received –housing were beginning . The style was orthodox Corbusian modernism,which was quickly losing popularity.
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1969 – HIGH TECHNOLOGY
1975 – DEFENSIBLE SPACE
The 1969 plan was slowly picked apart, its Battery Park City Authority, formed in 1968, grandiose public infrastructure was cast off. tossed the most essentially consisting of The Battery Park City project was broken down into that could and incrementally. These were called “ ” one of which, Gateway Plaza, was built. This service spine ran the length of Battery Park City as a partly glassed-in, partly open "lifeline," The pod has just to which all the buildings were plugged in. to provide a controllable, safe environment The master plan was a that incorporated
for three or four thousand people. The city at large was kept out. This was the developer's solution to the problem of middle-class suburban flight: the attempt was
.
The plan was well received but its timing was off the ´73 recession had hit. Investors were unwilling to commit themselves to such an untested concept.
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1979 – PRACTICAL REALISM
were returned to grade level and made an extension of Manhattan's grid.
This yielded conventional development blocks, which, in turn Each block could be , according to market demand.
The was moved from the southern end of the site up to the middle, .
The plan is more a than it is a fixed design. This has allowed a great deal of in actual execution and has served as a basis to bring a to Battery Park City, all within a context that relates everything
BATTERY PARK FROM SOUTH COVE
CHAMBERS STREET VISUAL CORRIDOR
LAND USE PATTERN The
The complex combines primarily
allocated the land use structure for the entire area. Then land was parceled and leased to private developers who built on them created especially for Battery Park City.
Small percentages of (school and library) and recreational (museums) uses also add to the over all development.
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ACESS WEST SIDE STREET WORLD TRADE CENTER SITE
FERRY TO STATUE OF LIBERTY www.archinomy.com
The
and provides along the entire length of the site.
Several across the Street.
it that lead one into the site. are provided at 3 points
Since the site is situated by the river, it is also accessible through There are , and .
CONNECTIVITY
Although Battery Park City is well that traverse within the site, there is One must alight off at Battery Park Station in the south or other stations just across the West Street and then One
is that the site reduced to the status of a
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PRINCIPLES 1. BATTERY PARK SHOULD NOT BE SELFCONTAINED NEW-TOWN-IN-TOWN,BUT A PART OF LOWER MANHATTAN. 2.THE LAYOUT AND ORIENTATION OF BATTERY PARK CITY SHOULD BE AN EXTENSION OF LOWER MANHATTAN’S SYSTEM OF STREETS AND BLOCKS. 3.IT SHOULD OFFER AN ACTIVE AND VARIED SET OF WATERFRONT AMENITIES. 4.THE DESIGN OF THE CITY SHOULD TAKE LESS IDIOSYNCRATIC , MORE RECOGNIZABLE AND MORE UNDERSTANDABLE FORM. 5.CIRCULATION AT CITY SHOULD REEMPHASIZE THE GROUND LEVEL. 6.CITY SHOUL D REPRODUCE AND IMPROVE UPON WHAT IS BEST NEW YORK’S NEIGHBOURHOODS. 7.CITY’S COMMERCIAL CENTER SHOULD BECOME THE CENTRAL FOCUS OF THE PROJECT. 8.LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT CONTROLS SHOULD BE SUFFICIENTLY FLEXIBLE TO ALLOW ADJUSTMENT TO FUTURE MARKET REQUIREMENTS.
PRIMARY GUIDELINES FOR THE LANDUSE AND WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT IN THE REGION: •
Enact changes to address the dramatic changes that have taken place in recent decades, and
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LANDSCAPE DEVELOPMENT An outstanding feature of the Battery City park is s it allows for while providing for sufficient floor area as well. The site is home to about which act as community and recreational spaces. The project has won many awards for its unique landscape designs. The firm of Hanna/Olin has received much appreciation for their designs that celebrate
• Capitalize on vacant and underused land for new housing development, addressing both local and citywide needs. • New development should fit in with its surroundings, building on the strong character of the existing neighborhoods. • . Establish a blueprint for a revitalized, publicly accessible East River waterfront. • that will reconnect the neighborhood to the waterfront. .
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CRITICAL APPRAISAL 1.
2. 3. 4.
5.
6.
7.
REVIEW AND MODIFY DETAIL. DESIGNS OF INTERSECTIONS IN THE PRESENT WESTWAY PLAN THAT AFFECTS BATTERY PARK CITY 1979 MASTER PLAN INVESTIGATE THE POTENTIAL FOR INEGRATION OF BATTERY PARK CITY STREET SYSTEM PROPOSALS WITH WASHINGTON MARKET URBAN RENEWAL PROJECT. UNDETAKE AN ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATE APPROACHES FOR MEETING THE ENERGY REQUIREMENT. INVESTIGATE WITH THE CITY POTENTIALS FOR CLOSING ALL OR PARTS OF RECTOR STREET TO VEHICLES AND RESERVING IT AS A MAJOR PEDESTRIAN LINKAGES TO THE WATERFRONT. ONE OF GREAT THINGS ABOUT THIS NEIGHBORHOOD IS MAKES YOU FEEL TO NATURE. ALTHOUGH THE HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS ARE EXTREMELY URBAN, THERE IS A MAGNIFICENT ESPLANADE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO STROLL AND BICYCLE ALONG THE HUDSON RIVER. NEARLY TWO DOZEN TINY ‘POCKET PARKS’ IN BPC THAT MEAN CAN COME DOWN TO EARTH TO ENJOY GREENERY AND FREQUENTLY CHANGING ART INSTALLATIONS. COMMUTING CAN BE A NIGHTMARE, ESPECIALLY IN INCLEMENT WEATHER. BUSES SERVE THE AREA, BUT THEY ARE SLOW, PARTICULARLY AT RUSH HOUR. YOU’LL NEED TO WALK AT LEAST 10 MINUTES TO REACH ONE OF THE SUBWAY LINES THAT SERVE THE AREA. IN 2003, THE SOLAIRE, THE NATION'S FIRST SUSTAINABLE HIGH-RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDING OPENED IN BATTERY PARK CITY. ENVIRONMENTALLY ENGINEERED TO CONSUME 65% LESS ENERGY DURING PEAK DEMAND HOURS - 35% LESS ENERGY OVERALL - AND 50% LESS POTABLE WATER THAN SIMILAR APARTMENT BUILDINGS.
IMPLEMENTATION AND PHASING 1.
2. 3.
A STRATEGY FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT CONTROLS. SUCH AS STREET MAPPING,ZONING CLASSIFICATIONS FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE SITE. STAGED DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROJECT. INFRASTRUCTURE COST ESTIMATES
PUBLIC POLICIES 1. 2. 3.
A QUALITY PUBLIC ENVIRONMENT SIMPLIFIED INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS CURRENT AND PROJECTED MARKET CONDITIONS. ISSUES 1. MARKET UNCERTAINITY AND AN EXCESSIVELY RIGID LARGESCALE DEVELOPMENT. 2. OVERLY COMPLICATED PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT. 3. QUESTIONS AS TO THE FINANCIAL STABILITY OF THE AUTHORITY.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3li1t_clean-andgreen-in-ny-meet-battery_news (video) http://www.batteryparkcity.org/pdf_n/1979_Master_Plan.p df
http://www.batteryparkcity.org/Who-We-Are/UrbanExperiment_8.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_Park_City
