Hudson River Park
In collaboration with Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Landscape Architects, P.C. Commisioned by the Hudson River Park Trust.
Projected completion: never
Glass block pavers, tinted and cast terrazzo. The design for this project was started around 2003 and may not be realized until 2011 or later or ever. The existing pier will be taken down and rebuilt. Pier 54 is a ‘party’ pier, a space for big outdoor gatherings and concerts. Unlike many of the other piers that have been rebuilt and turned into parkland with lawns and trees, Pier 54 had to be all hard surface without obstructions to the large open space. It was here where the surviving passengers of the Titanic disembarked the RMS Carpathia. The Cunard- and later the combined Cunard-White Star Line used it as their base of operations and it was the port of departure of the Lucitania’s last voyage, before it was sunk by German U-Boats during WW1 which was one of the reasons for the US to enter the war. My idea was to recreate the shadow the Lucitania would have cast had she been docked on the south side of the pier. The design will be executed in sparkling crushed glass pavers. I designed the yellow terrazzo seating/planters to add a curvaceous element to the design and to provide shade. There will be a 8’ five-pointed LED-illuminated stainless steel star attached to the big arch at the street entrance, which is all that is left of the original arrivals building.
