Governors Island Blog » On the Boards

On the Boards: Sustainability

Ellen — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:26:27 +0000

Striving to be greener may seem like overkill for a new green oasis with 1,300 new trees, but GIPEC and the West 8 Team are incorporating a broad range of sustainable design features into the Park and Public Space Master Plan. Our focus on sustainability makes more sense if you remember that parks are wholly man-made environments. How they are designed and constructed can have a significant impact on the natural environment. Likewise, the ability of a park to thrive for future generations depends on sound planning and design that anticipates the impact of the natural environment on the park itself. This becomes even more important and more challenging in the face of a warming planet and rising sea levels.

Some of the key strategies the designers are using to minimize the park’s impact, offset impacts elsewhere, and respond to a warming planet are:

Focus on site specific conditions and design accordingly
Focus on native plantings as the backbone of the plant and tree selection, as well as locally adapted species that are expected to thrive as temperature ranges change
Reuse as much material as possible from demolition of the Island’s obsolete parking lots and non-historic buildings.
Reuse clean-fill from other local projects to build up parts of the Island and elevate the roots of new trees out of the projected 100-year flood zone.
Replace impervious asphalt with plantings wherever possible to reduce storm water run-off and decrease urban heat island effect
Manage storm water on site to minimize run-off into the Harbor and City sewers

Below is an illustration of the Island’s current topography. The orange line shows the level to which a 1-in-100-year flood could rise in the year 2100, if global warming causes a rise in sea level of up to two feet.

And here is an illustration of one of the West 8 Team’s ideas for planning the future park- lifting the root zone of new trees above proejcted flood levels.

Tell us what you think about our focus on sustainability by responding to this post or dropping us an email at Info-GIPEC@empire.state.ny.us.

On the Boards: Horticulture

Ellen — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:33:05 +0000

The selections of plants and trees existing on Governors Island today are a result of the influence of both people and nature. The Island’s familiar mix of lawns, canopy of shade trees, and lovely ornamentals suited the Island’s historic purpose as a military and Coast Guard base. The Historic District’s protected conditions, higher elevations and quality top soils make for ideal conditions to grow large, beautiful shade trees and support other plantings. On the southern half of the Island, poor quality soil, exposure to harsh salty winds, and poor draining soils have resulted in the stunted and stressed condition of existing trees.

The diagram above illustrates the overall planting strategy that West 8 and Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects are developing, which privileges the selection of native plants, but also considers species that 1) thrive in the Island’s challenging site conditions, 2) support the plan’s programming (like ball sports, picnicking and relaxing), 3) diversifies plant communities for insects and birds, and 4) require maintenance that’s appropriate to a public park. The strategy also addresses existing conditions in order to dramatically enhance the park experience and habitat potential of the southern portion of the Island. The West 8 team will choose plants that thrive in the Island’s complex micro climates, and raise parts of the Island’s topography to assure that tree roots are above predicted flood elevations.

The planting strategy the West 8 Team is developing for the Park and Public Space Master Plan complements the existing botanic variety of the Historic District, increases botanic richness and diversity across the southern half of the Island and integrates the two parts of the Island into a thriving whole.

On the Boards: Water for all Senses

Ellen — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:40:51 +0000

Get this girl a proper play fountain! The author's niece, Estella Yanez, in a tub of bottled water at the Pyramid Cafe on Governors Island shortly before her mean auntie and dad put an end to her fun...

Governors Island has a unique relationship to water. It is an island, after all. Every sense tells you water is near: from the fresh salty smell that greets the ferry at Soissons, to the buffer of silence broken only by a little buoy on the southern tip.

But the waters themselves are deep and choppy. The busy working harbor, the large wakes from big boats that pass, the rushing currents, and some rapid drop offs, all serve to make the waters just over the seawall too dangerous for swimming. But those same turbulent conditions create the dramatic displays of spray up over the seawall in the summer and ice fences in the winter. And there’s really nothing like the feeling of openness and freedom that comes from being out in the heart of the harbor.

West 8′s challenge is to enhance that sublime experience of being on a green Island surrounded by water. Thier response to that challenge is taking form in a number of exciting ways, from a promenade hand rail that draws visitors to the edge to an elevated promenade overlooking the harbor. And so that kids like Estella don’t have to resort to playing in cafe tubs, they are working to create the kind of water play expereiences people crave when they are out here. Among the watery elements to look for when we release the plan are a play fountain that even grown ups can splash in, and a reflecting pool surrounded by movable chairs.

Governors Island already has several ways to experience the water (not including the tub of ice water at Pyramid Cafe). Last summer, the Downtown Boathouse sponsored free kayaking, and this summer we will be opening up Yankee Pier to historic ships.

: Shhhhh . . . buoy.

On the Boards: Play and Sports for All Ages

Betty — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:00:29 +0000

As we’ve been reaching out to the public through various avenues like this blog, exhibits, a survey, and meetings, people have given us all kinds of great suggestions for what they’d like to see and do in the future park. This “word cloud” shows you some of those ideas, with the size of the word corresponding to the frequency of the suggestion.

The West 8 design team took in those suggestions and other program activities and mapped them onto an outline of the Island. This “word map” shows the wide range of activities that will be available in the future park. Visitors of all ages will find something delightful, challenging, and fun as they play and explore. The park design will provide chances to do everyday activities in extraordinary settings. Playing ball next to the water with a view of the Statue of Liberty, going for a stroll to take in views of the entire harbor and envigorating salty breezes, freedom to fly a kite on a big open lawn…

On the Boards: Superflat

Ellen — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:10:11 +0000

The southern tip of Governors Island in 1934. It's flat.

A few weeks back we blogged about the new hills West 8 is designing on the southern end of the Island. Those hills are part of a larger strategy that will use subtle shifts in topography to transform what are now acres of crabgrass and asphalt into an alluring, intriguing park that people will want to explore. This “transformative topography” is a key element of West 8′s design, but we’ve been struggling with how we communicate its importance to the future success of the park and the Island. Who wakes up in the morning and thinks, “I’d really like to go somewhere with awesome topography today”? But that’s partly what millions of people are doing each year when they decide to visit Central Park or Prospect Park. Before being transformed into parks, those areas were wide swaths of craggy, mostly flat, largely deforested land. Central Park had some schist outcroppings, but it wasn’t the winding, undulating, lush park we love today.

It’s also hard for people to visualize the extreme flatness of the Island, especially since most people have only experienced the lovely rolling landscape of the historic northern half of the Island (though this will change this summer when we open Picnic Point). We hope you come out this summer and see for yourself; in the meantime, check out some great historic photographs that really show off the Island’s flat southern half (see above and below).

Governors Island in 1951. It's still flat.

On the Boards: Car-free Bike Oasis

Ellen — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:22:04 +0000

1) The "white bikes" program at Hoge Veluwe in the Netherlands is considered one of the first successful free bike programs. 2)Vondelpark is Amsterdam's "Central Park," but many more of it's shady paths are accessible to visitors on bikes.

I recently heard Leslie (Koch, GIPEC President) describe bikes as Governors Island’s current “killer app.” That’s a perfect way to describe the phenomenon we witnessed last year when about 35% of our visitors rode bikes on Transportation Alternative’s Free Bike Fridays (the overall percent of visitors on bikes was a not-so-shabby 20% ). Not only does the Island’s size, flatness, and car-free roads make bicycling an ideal way to get around, but there’s also just something about biking here that appeals to people of all ages and origins. They ride more slowly, they ride two and three abreast while chatting. They bike in sandals and sundresses instead of sneakers and spandex. They stop to play minigolf. West 8 saw this opportunity during our initial design competition and proposed a large fleet of custom designed, iconic wooden bicycles for visitors to ride for free.

But what does it mean to create a “car-free bike oasis” out here? Throughout this year, West 8 and GIPEC have been trying to answer that question. It’s more than just free bicycles. It’s even about more than just the widths of the paths. The challenge is to understand the differences between how people would experience this new park on a bicycle versus on foot. Fortunately and not coincidentally, West 8 has thought a lot about this, and is very familiar with parks that see bicycle use similar to Governors Island. Their work on the Kröller Müller Museum Sculpture Garden , situated in a national park in the Netherlands with a 20-year old free “white bike” program, taught them valuable lessons about how people behave with free bikes. For example, West 8 is locating the racks of free bicycles at the arrival plazas in places that would be most intuitive for families rushing to catch the ferry to drop them off. The more conveniently located the return racks are, the fewer staff are needed to pick up stray bicycles.

We’d love to hear what a “car-free bike oasis” means to you. We got great feedback and questions about the bicycle program during our update meeting with the GIA and the GIAC. What would you want to see there? What could you do here that you can’t do elsewhere in New York?

: Prototype of West 8′s wooden bicycle used in their 2007 design competition presentation.

On the Boards: Meeting with the Governors Island Alliance and the Governors Island Advisory Council

Ellen — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:08:01 +0000

This image, which was shown to the GIA and the GIAC on Tuesday, shows the kinds of plantings being considered for the four dramatic new hills. While specific tree species are not determined in the master plan, the master plan describes the strategy that will guide their selection in future phases.

This past Tuesday morning, West 8 and GIPEC presented the Governors Island Alliance (GIA) and the Governors Island Advisory Council (GIAC) with an update on the park and public space master plan process. The purpose of the meeting was not only to update the groups, but to get their thoughts on design questions being considered by the team. The GIA is a coalition of organizations and individuals who support the reuse and development of the Island, and the GIAC is comprised of elected officials and others who advise GIPEC on current operations and future planning.

The presentation provoked several thoughtful debates about the feasibility of creating a soft edge waterfront, the role that native plants should play in the Island’s planting strategy, and how to find the right home for the Island’s hundreds of iconic wooden bicycles. Some comments were very general, such as a request that we consider creating special habitats for wildlife in some of the hills, while others were very specific, such as a pitch for having white birch trees, which are especially beautiful in the winter.

GIPEC and the planning team have taken note of these and other concerns expressed and are looking forward to hearing more of people’s thoughts prior to the completion of the park and public space master plan at the end of May. In addition to the weekly ”On the Boards” blog series about the design process (where you can always leave a comment), Adriaan Geuze of West 8 will be presenting progress on the park and public space master plan to the public on April 24 at the Center for Architecture. Stay tuned for more event details.

On the Boards: New Hills

jamiemaslyn — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:25:21 +0000

One of the most dramatic features of the West 8 team’s design competition proposal was a set of new hills on the non-historic South Island constructed from recycled demolition debris and fill. The hills would radically change the landscape of the pancake-flat South Island and provide 360-degree views of the harbor and surrounding skylines. During the park master plan process, the West 8 team has been developing the hill concept further. Above is a gallery of photos taken from the top of a tall, non-historic building on the Island that shows (approximately) the view from the new hills. Below, West 8′s project manager, Jamie, describes some of the work they’re doing on the design of these hills . -EC

I love living in New York City: the sights and activity is a constant rush on the senses. But one of the things I love when I get away from the City is exercising my ‘long-range’ vision muscles and staring into a vast horizon and sky. Better yet, add the sparkling lights of a City and that’s a memory of a lifetime. That feeling is just part of the inspiration for the West 8 design team to make large hills in the Governors Island park design. After all, where else in New York City can you get 360 degree views of the City, the sky, the harbor … NOT from on top of a building?

It’s going to be an extraordinary experience –a totally new way to see the City and escape for a little reflection. And, unlike some observation decks, the view is free. During the park master plan process, we’ve been tackling some of the core design and engineering issues to make this real: how tall are the hills? How do people of all abilities get to the top? What is the engineering needed to construct them? The back and forth process between creating the ‘wow’ experience with the realities of constructability are the really fun parts of this design process.

On the Boards: Deepening the experience of vast water and big sky

Betty — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:30:21 +0000

As buildings have been demolished on the southern tip of Governors Island, raw open space has been created in the footprints of the old structures. We’ve been working with the West 8 design team to imagine ways of giving this space character and turning a flat barren area into a great destination. This transformation will happen in a number of ways.

Looking north in the afternoon, 02.19.09. With some of the non-historic buildings down, we're seeing even more of the vast sky that surrounds the Island. West 8's design will highlight this sense of openness and exposure in some areas, while playing with the experience of shade and suprise in others.

For example, the tip of the Island is one of the few places in New York City to see a broad horizon but today it is a sea of asphalt next to a desolate motor pool and old warehouses. The views here out to the water are spectacular, but it’s not an enjoyable place to spend time.

We’ve asked the West 8 team for a park design that deepens a visitor’s experience of the vast water and big sky. In response, the design team has been studying the Island at all times of day – in the rain, the wind, the sun, and the snow. They’ve walked the water’s edge over and over and gotten to know the specific moods and qualities of the site – like the aspects of shifting light, the sensations of the waves and changing tides, and the smells and sounds of various spots along the water’s edge. Their research is informing each design decision big and small – everything from where to place the walking paths in relationship to the water, to what types of trees to plant and where for shade, to the design of seating for boat-watching and people watching, to the comfort of a guardrail for leaning against when at the water’s edge. This summer, you’ll be able to walk to the tip of the Island and see for yourself – what exists there now and contemplate what could be there in the future

On the Boards: Design Process

jamiemaslyn — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 02:53:44 +0000

So how does the West 8 team go about designing a park? Just what is this mysterious ‘park master plan’?

Making a park master plan involves a lot of ‘problem solving’ – What can we design that will make people come back again and again? Where will the pathways go? What will the maintenance requirements be? These are really important matters to be sure, and many of the details will get worked through as we continue to get feedback from you and all the other people involved. But the park master plan also involves processes that aren’t as quantifiable. We get our hands dirty (sometimes literally) drawing, doing studies in 3-D on the computer, and visiting the island (we can’t get enough of that, particularly in these glorious winter months!). Our goal? To have a park master plan that is inspired by the Island, you (the future park users) and our team’s imagination.

The park master plan is the first step of a design process that has several phases. Through drawings, plans and diagrams, the master plan lays out the kind of a park this will be and how it will look and feel. Once we settle on the “what” of the park in the master plan phase, we’ll then start the detailed work needed to create more specific designs that can be turned into the construction documents needed to actually build the park.

The design process also invovles going out to the tip of Governors Island on a freezing cold day in early February, according to Rachel Laszlo Tait, a designer with West 8.