In Construction> High Line Construction Reaches into Hudson Yards
(Timothy Schenck / Courtesy Friends of the High Line)
Hudson Yards broke ground late last year, but the Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed tower that will one day be the headquarters of fashion-label Coach isn’t the only construction activity causing a buzz on the 26-acre site on Manhattan’s West Side. Wrapping around the south and west sides of the Hudson Yards site, construction crews are busy building out the final segment of the High Line, including sandblasting and refurbishing the steel viaduct, repainting the steel structure’s beams, girders, and columns with the High Line’s signature “Greenblack” color, and removing and storing existing railroad tracks. Landscape construction is expected to begin later this spring.
The Friends of the High Line recently stopped by the construction site with photographer Timothy Schenck to take these photos of work in progress. Be sure to take a look at James Corner Field Operations’ design for the final segment here.
Robert Hammond and Joshua David met at a community board meeting in 1999. The future of the then rusting and decrepit High Line was on the docket, and it was very much in doubt. The two joined forces to create Friends of the High Line, a non-profit that led the charge for the preservation and transformation of the disused line rail into a linear park. Today, Hammond announced he will step down as the organization’s executive director, saying, in a statement, “My passion has always been in starting new things, and I am looking forward to pursuing whatever my next project may be. In my heart I am an entrepreneur.”
Chelsea Market Expansion Approved at City Planning
New renderings of the Chelsea Market edition shows a set back of massing from the High Line. (Courtesy Jamestown)
In a unanimous vote today, the New York City Planning Commission approved Jamsestown Properties’ plans for expansion at Chelsea Market with few modifications. The building was rezoned to be included in the Special West Chelsea District, thereby allowing developers to increase density after a significant contribution is made to the High Line. Much to the quite literal relief of High Line visitors, this likely means bathrooms will finally find their way to the southern section of the park.
Today the City and Friends of the High Line announced the acquisition of the third and final portion of the abandoned rail line from CSX, securing once and for all its future as a linear park. The section, which extends into what will become Hudson Yards, will add another half mile to the leafy line. CSX donated the line to the city. Final design work for the third phase is underway. Construction is set to begin later this year.
Jeff Koons Proposes Bringing Trains Back to the High Line
Courtesy Friends of the High Line
When preliminary designs for the third and final section of the High Line were revealed, the designers presented several options including flowerbeds and amphitheater seating for the Tenth Avenue Spur, an offshoot of the park that stands above the intersection of 10th Avenue and 30th Street. The design team’s aim is to make the Spur one of the main gathering spaces in the park. Now, with the proposal of a massive installation by artist Jeff Koons calling for a suspended locomotive over the park, the Spur may become exhibition space as well.
Design for Final Segment of High Line Revealed!
The 30th Street Passage will move through Hudson Yards Tower C and lead visitors toward the offshoot section of the High Line called the Tenth Avenue Spur.
Tonight, the design team from the High Line will present plans for Section 3 to the community. Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe will introduce James Corner from the project’s lead team, James Corner Field Operations, and Ricardo Scofidio from Diller Scofidio + Renfro. High Line co-founder Robert Hammond will moderate a post presentation discussion.
Unlike the last two sections of the High Line, Section 3 will be intimately integrated with one major developer, as opposed to a variety of property owners and stakeholders. From 30th to 34th Street, the High Line wraps around Hudson Yards, the 12 million square foot office and residential district being developed by Related Companies. Much of the new section will be built cheek by jowl with Related’s construction. At the westernmost section overlooking the Hudson River, an interim walkway will span the existing self-seeded landscape, so as coordinated design efforts alongside Related’s development and give Friends of the High Line time to raise more funds.
The estimated total cost of capital construction on the High Line at the rail yards is $90 million. Construction is expected to be complete by the end of 2013 with a full public opening in spring 2014.
SHFT+ALT+DEL: October 28
SHFT+ALT+DLT
Cecilia Alemani has been named the new curator and director of the High Line Art Program. Previously, Alemani had worked as an independent curator and writer, and is currently a guest curator for the upcoming Performa 11.
Lucinda Sanders has been named the 2012 President of the Landscape Architecture Foundation. Her tenure will begin on October 30, 2011 at the American Society of Landscape Architects’ (ASLA) annual meeting. Sanders is the CEO and a partner at OLIN.
The Washington, DC office of Perkins Eastman has announced that J. Scott Kilbourn will join as a Principal and Chief Operating Officer. Kilbourn has more than 28 years of design and planning experience. Most recently, he was Vice President at RTKL where he worked in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, and DC.
Suanne Bassett, principal of Suba—Connecting through Architecture and Interior Design, is re-launching her firm. Bassett, who is licensed in California and New York, returns to her own practice after several years of collaborating with local San Francisco Bay Area firms.
Corey Martin has been named principal at Portland firm THA Architecture. Previously, Martin worked at Richard Potestio and Allied Works before co-founding Portland-based PATH Architecture with partner Ben Kaiser in 2005.
Perkins+Will has announced that Wayne Perlenfein has joined the firm as prinicipal and will focus on federal government in the Washington DC office. Previously, Perlenfein ran his own firm of Rogers, Perlenfein & Associates and was also the jurisdiction executive and senior program manager for planning, design and construction for the Architect of the Capitol in Washington DC.
The Center for Curatorial Leadership (CCL) in New York City has announced its 2012 class of fellows. The program spans four weeks and includes instruction by Columbia Business School faculty, a six-month mentorship, a week-long museum residency, and long-term team-based project.
Have news on movers and shakers in the architecture & design universe for SHFT+ALT+DEL? Send your tips to people@archpaper.com!
High Art: Kim Beck’s The Sky Is the Limit/NYC
A view from St. Marks. (Cindy Chun)
Just after 4:00p.m. Sunday afternoon, cryptic messages visible for miles around Manhattan were written in the sky, spelling out, among other things, “Last Chance.” Out of context to millions in the streets below, the messages were slightly unnerving and deliberately vague. Curious speculation as each giant letter was traced into the sky led many to wonder what the message actually meant: An ad? A terrorist’s warning? A persistent marriage proposal? It turns out the display was part of an art project by Kim Beck called The Sky Is the Limit/NYC and sponsored by the Friends of the High Line.
SARAnading Design
Friends of the High Line won the Medallion of Honor (images courtesy respective firms).
On Tuesday, the Society of American Registered Architects (SARA) New York Council announced the winners of this year’s 14th Annual Professional Design Awards. Read More
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