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| Rendering by Pier55, Inc. and Heatherwick Studio |
The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation and the Hudson River Park Trust have announced plans for Pier55, a futuristic, 2.7-acre park on a series of floating, mushroom-shaped columns on New York City's West Side, NewYork.com reports.
The proposal is now set to undergo a 60-day public approvals process, as well as an approval process with the Hudson River Trust board, with construction planned to begin in 2016 and finish in 2018 or 2019.
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| Rendering by Pier55, Inc. and Heatherwick Studio |
The park will be designed by Thomas Heatherwick and Matthews Nielsen to replace an old pier on the Hudson River. The design will consist of 300 columns that range from 15 to 70 feet above the water level, and will have space for lawns, walkways and three performance spaces: a 1,000-seat stage, an 800-seat amphitheater and a smaller, 250-seat stage. An expanded public esplanade will connect the park with Manhattan near 14th street.
The raised design of the park will allow sunlight to reach the water underneath in order to provide a spawning ground for striped bass. The two piers adjacent to the proposed park -- Pier 54 and Pier 56 -- will also remain untouched to provide a sanctuary for the fish.
Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg will provide most of the funding for the park, which is estimated to cost $170 million. New York State will provide $18 million for the connecting esplanade.
Read the NewYork.com story here.