Landscape architecture firm Field Operations was selected as the planning and design consultant. Later that year in September, Mayor Bloomberg announced the kickoff of the master planning process

The full build–out will continue in phases for the next 30 years, with its unusual combination of natural and engineered beauty, including creeks, wetlands, expansive meadows and spectacular vistas. &nbsp;Projects that provide direct connection to the communities surrounding the park were given the highest priority, and the park is being built outside in.

The City of New York established the Fresh Kills Landfill. “Fresh Kills” comes from the Middle Dutch word ‘kille’, meaning “riverbed” or “water channel.” &nbsp;The area originally comprised primarily of tidal creeks and coastal marsh

In 1996, a state law was passed requiring that the landfill cease accepting solid waste by December 31, 2001. &nbsp;By 1997, two of the four mounds were closed and covered with a thick, impermeable cap; and the landfill received its last barge of garbage on March 22, 2001. After the World Trade Center attack of September 11, 2001, the materials from the World Trade Center site were brought to the West Mound during a temporary suspension of the closure.

 The High Line, in collaboration with James Corner Field Operations and Piet Oudolf, is a new 1.5-mile long public park built on an abandoned elevated railroad stretching from the Meatpacking District to the Hudson Rail Yards in Manhattan. Inspired by the melancholic, unruly beauty of this postindustrial ruin, where nature has reclaimed a once vital piece of urban infrastructure, the new park interprets its inheritance. It translates the biodiversity that took root after it fell into ruin in a string of site-specific urban microclimates along the stretch of railway that include sunny, shady, wet, dry, windy, and sheltered spaces. Through a strategy of agri-tecture&mdash;part agriculture, part architecture&mdash;the High Line surface is digitized into discrete units of paving and planting which are assembled along the 1.5 miles into a variety of gradients from 100% paving to 100% soft, richly vegetated biotopes. The paving system consists of individual pre-cast concrete planks with open joints to encourage emergent growth like wild grass through cracks in the sidewalk. The long paving units have tapered ends that comb into planting beds creating a textured, &ldquo;pathless&rdquo; landscape where the public can meander in unscripted ways. The park accommodates the wild, the cultivated, the intimate, and the social. Access points are durational experiences designed to prolong the transition from the frenetic pace of city streets to the slow otherworldly landscape above. 

The first phase of the park extended from West 12th Street to 22nd Street between 10th & 11th Avenue.  Subsequent phases extended the length of the elevated rail till 32nd Street.

High Line

Carol Berens, VP of the Empire State Development Corporation, discusses the reinvisioning of a dilapidated elevated railroad into the High Line Park and its consequences on the surrounding neighborhood.  

Elizabeth Leber, Partner at Beyer Blinder Belle speaks on the design features of the High Line Maintenance and Operations Facilities Center, which seamlessly integrate the new building with the existing High Line.

In 1948 Fresh Kills Landfill opened on Staten Island. &nbsp;Conceived by Robert Moses as a temporary solution to the city's waste, over the next half century,&nbsp;29,000 tons of trash were barged daily transforming the 2,200 acre sea level wetland into the world's largest landfill (a milestone it had reached by 1955) with 200' tall garbage hills. &nbsp;In 1996 Mayor Giuliani and Governor Pataki agreed to close the dump possibly responding to a combination of public pressure, potential federal litigation, and the fact that 1997 was an election year. &nbsp;On&nbsp;March 22, 2001 the last barge finally delivered its&nbsp;load of refuse only to be reopened after Sept 11th to accept the debris from the World Trade Center which was carefully sifted by the NYC Medical Examiner's office for human remains.&nbsp; An international design competition was held in 2001 and won by James Corner. Typically a garbage dump will produce gas and effluent as the pile decomposes. &nbsp;Essentially the design solution is a sophisticated&nbsp;way of encapsulating the waste pile so that whatever additional decomposition might occur will be very limited and the runoff and gas can be vented and purified. &nbsp;Once the base is stable, 30" worth of&nbsp;barriers, filters and soils are layered on. &nbsp;Then it is planted. &nbsp;The process is quite time consuming and expensive; it will take until 2036 until everything is completed. &nbsp;By&nbsp;2020 the first Sedge Wren had built a nest.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Freshkills Park

This Recording talks about Freshkills Park by Eloise Hirsh

 After 120 years of operation, the Domino Sugar Refinery closed in 2003. Since then there have been two schemes for the site. The first, designed by Raphael Vinoly in association with Beyer Blinder Belle in 2010, included new apartment towers flanking the 1884 refinery. In 2012 the property was sold to Two Trees Development who commissioned SHoP Architects to redesign the project features a mixed use community with about 2300 residential units with a larger office/ retail component. The buildings are also taller than in the Vinoly scheme allowing more open space. 

Domino Sugar Factory

An urban design, landscape architecture and public realm practice based in New York City.

Field Operations

The High Line can be categorized as the world’s longest green roof! The average depth of soil is only 18 inches. This shallow soil depth posed a challenge for water conservation and drainage. The park uses multiple levels of filters and drainage systems to collect, store, and distribute falling rainwater to its plants. The system starts at the very top level with pathways designed specifically to direct rainwater into the plant beds. Once in the plant beds, the water soaks into multiple layers of soil, from the topsoil to sub-layers of clay, fabric, and gravel. At the bottom, a drainage mat covered in egg carton-shaped cups reserves water to be absorbed back into the soil when conditions are dry.

Field Operations

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Field Operations

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